Advice re. childcare vouchers - confused!

[fleacircus]

Really a should I/shouldn't I question... I'm a higher tax payer so could save about #90 (stupid keyboard refutes the existence of sterling) a month with this. DP is already claiming his full entitlement. BUT, we're hoping to start TTC next month, which obviously could take ages, I've only just begun ovulating again, but only took three cycles to conceive DD (not that that really means anything). Anyway, aiming to become pregnant quite quickly, and from looking at the information it seems that I would have to withdraw from the scheme before I was 8wks before the 15wk deadline, so at 7wks pregnant (I think - now am wondering if I've got confused and it's in fact 8wks before 15wks before due date... any clarification please?) or it would affect my maternity pay. For various reasons I was planning to hold off telling my employer until around the 15wks mark as I want to pass it off as an accident (am not generally dishonest, just various workplace politics just now meant that would be simpler).

Oh, blah blah blah, sorry - confusing myself further. Would I be better off just to leave it? Or should I do it anyway? #90 is quite a lot to pass up but I'm worried I might leave myself worse off in the long run.

I think there have been threads about this issue before. Basically with the voucher scheme I 'm in (Busy Bees) you have to tell them as soon as you know as the qualifying weeks for mat pay are weeks 17-25 i.e. 15 weeks before your due date. This entitles you to what your mat pay is based on and obviously the higher figure it's based on the better. The other issue is apparently you are still entitled to childcare vouchers through a loophole if you child is due after October 2008.

If you can manage it you should keep paying into the voucher scheme whilst on Mat leave to take advantage of the tax break - I did this and had enough money built up upon my return to work to cover all of our childcare costs for 9 months which was great! If you're a higher rate tax payer then you can pay £243 (pre tax) into the scheme - but this only costs you £150 of pay - so it's £150 less a month whilst on mat leave, but ultimately £243 per month for the duration of your leave to go towards childcare upon your return.

Actually it's all a lot more complicated than this. Childcare vouchers are not a deduction from your pay. If you enter the scheme, you agree a lower salary, and you receive a contractual benefit i.e. the voucher. When your SMP is calculated i.e. as missunderstood says between weeks 17 and 25, it will be calculated on your lower pay unless you withdraw from the scheme. However, you will be entitled to continue to receive the vouchers throughout your mat leave (as your baby would be due after April 2009 - currently you only get the vouchers for the first 6 months of mat leave) without anything being deducted from your SMP. In the vast majority of cases, therefore, you will be better off if you stay in the scheme, accept that the first 6 weeks of SMP will be lower than they would otherwise be, but receive vouchers for the full period of mat leave - which you can either use during mat leave or when you go back to work in addition to the full rate of SMP which you are entitled to (i.e. the flat rate of about £118 for the remainder of the SMP period).

Hope that makes sense.