What benefits would we be entitled to

[misskatie90]

Hey just looking for some help.
I am pregnant with my first child, 14 weeks. Me and my partner both currently work full time we earn about 46k between us after tax. We have a mortage which is quite pricey 866, then all the bills on top. We manage fine at the moment and have never worried about money. When baby comes along I will receive statutory maternity pay which is fine but it's a big cut. Will we be entitled to any benefits, any help? This is our first time we are very new to this so any help would be great. We are saving every penny at the moment.
Thanks in advance

You might be entitled to some universal credit to help with childcare once you go back to work or various other tax free childcare schemes but it is unlikely.

Universal credit is made up of an allowance for adults (around £500 a month right now which might go down by £80 soon), children (around £250 a month) housing which you are not eligible for help with since you own your property and a percentage of childcare costs once your baby is born.

Your maximum UC amount is calculated and the maximum is reduced by your earnings.

You might be entitled to some universal credit to help with childcare once you go back to work or various other tax free childcare schemes but it is unlikely.

Unlikely?!

The upper earning limit for the tax free childcare scheme (that used to be vouchers) is about 100£kpa- NET - per PERSON.

Are you not reading OP’s posts?

It’s a perfectly reasonable question to ask. As others have said, entitledto.co.uk is a good resource.

Also, there are situations in which a couple might earn a reasonable salary and still receive benefits. My husband and I are on approximately 50K before tax and we receive Child Tax Credit. So not at all unreasonable to ask.

@FTEngineerM

Laughing at the precious responses about planning and ‘cheaper than rent’ how and earth do you know that 😂?! They could have a super short mortgage then it would be more than rent. Chill out with the assumptions.

I think stat mat pay is SHIT; if I were to just leave my partner and have his two babys I’d get an enormous amount per month, more than my normal FTE salary, until they’re X age. If I choose to stay I get £600/m for 9 fucking months then nothing. What absolute trout thought that giving people who don’t ever intend on working MORE than someone taking 1 year out of working?

Anyway, chuck your details into entitled to.com or something like that and they’ll tell you.

Haha the responses do make me laugh. My post obviously has made people angry, your right stat pay is crap! It's a massive pay cut and I'm so grateful to be pregnant but it's going to be tight to live on. I'm not going to feel guilty for having a decent job and working full time. I will look on that site

@RickiTarr

Hang around OP, not everyone here is a viper. Not all of the time anyway.

Have you looked at tax-free childcare?

Hahaha some angry mama and papas

I was also looking for similar answers. I don’t live with my partner and unexpected pregnancy. I pay the mortgage alone and I guess we’ll have to figure out moving in together although he rents and both have places too small. So stressful.
The thought of living on a pittance a week and I can’t even pay my mortgage is stressful. Of course I’m saving as hard as I can now.

@sociallydistained

I was also looking for similar answers. I don’t live with my partner and unexpected pregnancy. I pay the mortgage alone and I guess we’ll have to figure out moving in together although he rents and both have places too small. So stressful. The thought of living on a pittance a week and I can’t even pay my mortgage is stressful. Of course I’m saving as hard as I can now.

Nice to know someone else isn't perfect and also has worries. Yeah I'm worrying a lot about money, I don't like the idea of struggling and that worry's me. I'd be better of leaving my partner and moving out id get more help.

I ageee @misskatie90 starting to wish I never got my own mortgage cause now I won’t be able to pay it whilst on maternity but won’t be entitled to any help. I’ve worked hard and haven’t had to struggle so it is scary that I will be struggling and forced back to back super early I guess.

My partner and I will have proper discussions and try and plan this as best we can but for now like you, It’s just good to know our situation.

Good luck to us I guess 😂

Wow some awful responses on here, sorry you’ve had to read them OP! My husband and I earn a fair amount over £90k a year between us and even we are counting the pennies with having a baby, OP should be able to ask if there is any help and if there is what without judgement. SMP is pennies when you are used to a regular salary that you’ve budgeted a household against.

Definitely have a look at the benefits calculator - £46k a year is roughly £3k take home (depending on your pension and other salary sacrifices) but even if you’re on NLW and your combined income drops to say £28-29k a year plus SMP, you might be able to scrap through maternity with some good saving beforehand and topping up with child benefit? Definitely look into any mortgage reductions for a year if you can too that will help, and debt reductions now for credit cards etc, and remember that you can get lots of baby things second hand or even free through Facebook market place to help!

Op specifically says in the op that it's 46k after tax which is around £3,800 per month take home. I would assume she means tax and all other contributions. I get it though op, if you earn more, your outgoings likely to be higher and the drop is much bigger. I doubt you'd been entitled to anything other than the £80ish per month. We saved as much as we could while TTC and pregnant. A lot of people can't afford 9/12 months off unfortunately so it depends how long you plan on having off too although nursery can also be crippling after after maternity leave! Good luck.

There's no obligation to take a full 9 months maternity. I'm the main earner and I'll take 6 months this time, took 18 weeks with my first. Only get SMP as I work in the third sector. You can also top up your money with KIT days if your employer agrees to it, that's 10 days over the maternity leave period paid at your normal rate. Helps to top up the coffers.

You’ll be entitled to child benefit but not much else I’m afraid.

You’ve got a bit of time to save as much as you can as a buffer though.

My one bit of advice would be too highly research what you buy the baby. We brought so many expensive gadgets and bit that we thought we needed that we either barely used or didn’t need at all. I dress to think about just how much money we wasted on the ‘top baby items you need to buy today!’

We’re trying for baby no2 and I’m going to buy via “baby eat, sleep, cry” so food, bedding, clothes and comforter - anything else can come later if we feel it’s necessary.

Good luck OP, it’s a lovely exciting time.

Maternity pay is really low and the cost of living down here is not haha.

Maternity pay is higher than ESA, UC or any other benefit unless you are severely disabled. I think that's why people are upset, you and your partner earn earn more than double what the government thinks a family of 4 needs to live on.

@sashh where is the figure that a family of four should live on?

@FTEngineerM look up the rates of various benefits

To be fair, I’m not so distant memory, tax credits were set so that 90% of parents would qualify for an award, and lots of messaging was commissioned to publicise that fact. It’s only more recently that the coalition & Conservative governments have incrementally dismantled that more expansive model of the welfare state.

So first time parents who don’t have an interest in public policy, and have just had a shock about maternity pay rates, might remember that messaging and ask the question.

She wasn’t enquiring about foodbanks and council flats.

In not I’m ^

[quote sashh]@FTEngineerM look up the rates of various benefits[/quote]
Ah no - not out of laziness but I had a suspicious you were going to say that @sashh

Benefits aren’t to live on, that’s the fundamental problem with your wording, they’re a stop gap to help survive until you’re back on your feet.

So the figure the gov give to ‘live on’ isnt half OPs living on its, the bare minimum they think you can survive on is.