Maternity Leave & Benefits

[KatysMummy]

Hi,

I get 6 months maternity leave at full pay & 6 months no pay. Does anyone know if I can claim anything if I want to take the unpaid period off? (Or theres no way I can afford it!!)

Thanks,

 

[Sarah&Braydon]

i dont think so hun! i could get that but couldnt cope with no income

 

[tracyM]

Your tax credits will increase because of the reduced income I think, not by as much as you'd earn working though

 

That;s all i was going to say too, Tax Credits will increase. Other than that there isn't anything unless you rent, when you may be able to get housing benefit.

The only way I've managed to stay off work is by cutting our non-proiority debts down and living on the basic's.

 

[hayley]

when i'm on maternity leave and getting the £100 or something a week pay how much tax and NI will i have to pay? also does anyone know if i'll still have to pay student loan? at the moment i pay £65 a month which comes out of my wages like tax or NI. It's calculated on your yearly wage... i hope they don't still class me as fully employed even thou i'm on maternity... if i'm only getting £400 surely i can't pay full tax, NI and student loan... I'd end up giving them money each month.

does anyone know if you can freeze your car payment like you can your mortage... sounds silly but my car is £210 a month... we're going to be able to manage the mortage and bills etc but its the luxuries like car finance's we could do without paying...

x

 

[Lindsay]

Hayley I was wondering the same thing - my car is £196 and will be struggling for the months when am only getting SMP.

You can apply to defer your student loan - you need to write to them to let them know!

Xxx

 

[tracyM]

The maternity pay isn't taxed, and isn't classed as income when they work out other benifits (like tax credits)

Get in touch with the Student Loan Company. They should let you defer it - I deferred mine after having one of the older kids.

 

[Amanda]

I was just going to post something very similar to this - thanks Emma!

I'm also worrying about this as I earn more than DH and I pay all the monthly bills. Basically I have a specific bill account, and on payday, over £1000 per month goes in there and all the bills come out of there. I am then left with around £450 per month in my normal account which does a monthly food shop and pays for any clothes, household things, and extra's (such as all the baby stuff recently). DH is only on just above minimum wage, and his monthly wages don't even come close to paying the bills. He gets paid weekly so we use his wages for the small weekly shops, daily lunches, petrol, and luxuries such as a sunny afternoon in the pub garden, and the odd take-away. Obviously these will be stopping very soon, but how else are we going to survive??

As I already have a 13 year old, I get the grand total of £39.90 per month tax credits - surely this will need to significantly increase once my wages drop???? It is looking more likely that I'll have to bring my maternity leave forward, so I'm even more worried that we'll have no money when LO arrives for any necessaties that we have forgot.

I've worked all my life (apart from when Kayleigh was little as her Dad is disabled) and now when I should be the happiest ever, I'm more worried about money than I've ever been.

Sorry to whinge. Does anyone know of any websites that calculate what we could get? I've tried to search myself but can't find anything.

 

[Amanda]

OMG!!

Thanks MrsG for emailing me this website.

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/under60.asp

I've just put in the approximate figures that DH earns, and that I will get on SMP, and also our rent and council tax, and it has come up with this!!

Your entitlements
Final tax credit award 2006/07

Child Tax Credit (annual): £2,348.66
Working Tax Credit (annual): £0
Weekly amounts

If you have not yet claimed your tax credit entitlement please go to how to claim tax credits.


Council Tax and Housing Benefit

Council Tax Benefit (per week): £19.23
Housing Benefit (per week): £130

At the minute, we only get the lowest tax credits - so £39.90 per month, no housing benefit, and no council tax benefit. If the amount we will get are anything like these (especially the council tax and housing), I'm not going back work!!!!!!! Apart from when I first had Kayleigh, I have never claimed a penny in benefits, and that was only because my ex is disabled, he couldn't and also couldn't look after a baby. Time for me to claim back from the system now!!!!!

Thanks again Tracey - I owe you one!!!