Maternity pay shock.

[Shaz]

Hi Girls - I'm 15 weeks pregnant and I've posted this on the 3rd trimester board already.......

Any of you girls out there in the same position as me? I'm a full time working girl and I'm due on the 30th January 2007. Just informed my immediate boss that I will be working right up to that date (unless little baby decides otherwise) so I get 6 weeks maternity leave at 90% of my full pay.

After that I get 20 weeks at the Standard Matenity Pay which is £108.00! This won't even cover my mortgage!!

Lucky that I have OH working too, but even so it's going to be a real shock dropping from two incomes to practically one. We don't have an extravagent lifestyle and I'm lucky in lots of ways because I get to keep the company car for my maternity leave (although I do get taxed on it!!!)

Looking at the sums how does ANYONE ever afford to feed and clothe a baby AND pay all the bills!?!?!?!

I'm getting really anxious about it.

 

[lauramumof2]

yep, that sounds about right im afraid. Its a bit of a struggle but you get used to it then it doesnt seem so bad. Do you know about tax credits? These are quite helpful depending on what you are entitled to.
I hope this doesnt sound cheeky but you would be surprised at what you would consider a neccesity just now that you wont once the baby comes.

We dont spend nearly as much now on booze.(sadly)

 

[Shaz]

Hi Laura

I know what you mean about booze! It was my hen night on saturday night - quite surreal watching all my friends get totally bladdered while I was on good old non-alcholic cocktails!

Getting married three weeks saturday.

I know what you mean about necessities. I'm just a bit of a worrier I suppose. OH is cool about our finances. He's happy to let me do the fretting!!!!

 

[Nicky_Jones]

One thing to bear in mind, if your T&C's are the same as mine you will continue to accrue holiday while you are on maternity leave. My plan is to "return" to work in December but then take several weeks holiday in one go so I don't actually go back into the office until the 15th Jan 2007. Thankfully I get full pay for 4months we are going to have to save up to cover the month without my normal pay check to make sure that the mortgage and bills can be paid that month, we are starting to put bits aside now to cover the month of SMP. Looking at the tax credits I got the impression these were based on our earnings for the last tax year - so the fact that you will getting less this tax year doesn't effect it. Am I reading it correctly?

 

[Shaz]

I'm not sure about tax credits either. I know you can claim child benefit when the baby is born (a whopping £17 per week I think), but if you earn a decent wage (ie over £20k per year) I don't think you're eligable.

I think the best thing is to actually make an appointment with the benefits office and find out what you're entitled too.

it's very confusing and I'm sure there are people that know how to "work the system" - but I'm not one of them!!!

Surely it should be easier to get what we're entitled too? Feels like you have to do all the digging and if you "discover" you are entitled to something you get it and if you don't then you dont'! No-one seems to go oh you're entitled to blah blah blah....................

 

[Jo]

Hiya everyone gets child benifit no matter what you earn, tax credits are differant you can work out online what you can get if anything, you should get some info from your pregnancy books they usually have phone numbers etc.....

and as for ppl working the system i only found out that i could have claimed some Extra for Jack when the age deadline had been and gone

I worked 2 jobs but was only entitled to maternity fbenifit from 1 of them!!!!, i'd love to know how they work that out, surley if i work 2 jobs i need the money from bth jobs!!!

good luck hun, start digging now

 

[Minime]

I'm not sure about tax credits either. I know you can claim child benefit when the baby is born (a whopping £17 per week I think), but if you earn a decent wage (ie over £20k per year) I don't think you're eligable.

You can claim tax credits too but its quite pitiful. I think I got £44 a month with me earning 19k part time and "ex thing I married" earning about 15k full time. When I moved on my own it went up to £103 a month on 19k for 30hrs a week.

Have a look at www.entitledto.co.uk as this shows various benefits and whether youre entitled.

EVERYONE can claim child benefit regardless of income (£17 something a week for 1st child) I think the duchess of york did and she caused uproar!

 

[Shaz]

Well if it's good enough for Fergie!!!!

 

[jennywren]

We too are starting to get worried about the cash flow!!

Since we have to move house before the birth (we currently live in one of them one bed luxuary appt jobbies, not exactly baby friendly lol) we will probably switch from cap & interest mortgage to Interest only, just for 1-2 years and then go back on cap & int as that will save us £300 ish a month. The way its going though with what Ive worked out with the bills, Ill have to go back to work after 6 months and I wanted a year with the baby really, but if needs must then needs must, however everyone keeps telling me ''you always think you are are going to be skint but it always works out OK.

I hope so, for you as well mate!

 

[Bagpuss17]

When you complete the info for the the tax credit entitlement, is it your income whilst on maternity leave or when you're working full time?

I don't know if I'm going back full time or not yet and I'm taking additional maternity leave where I won't be receiving any pay at all.

 

[Urchin]

Remember if you ARE eligible for £548 a year or more tax credits you are also entitled to the Sure star maternity grant which is a one off payment of £500!!!

Even if you have to wait till after the baby is born to become eligible...it's so worth it!

 

[maybebaby]

At the moment I have a household income of £28,000 before tax. After I go on maternity leave that's going to go down by quite a bit as I'm only entitled to SMP.

I will be eligible for tax credits AFTER baby arrives but didn't think I could apply for sure start grant if I earn more than the threshold at the moment? What's the latest you can apply for the sure start grant?

Sorry if that doesn't make sense...

 

[Vicki83]

You've got 3 months after LO's born to claim, as i can only claim once LO arrives too as i work full time

 

[Sarah&Braydon]

ur gonna work up to the day wot on earth do u do??

 

[Urchin]

At the moment I have a household income of £28,000 before tax. After I go on maternity leave that's going to go down by quite a bit as I'm only entitled to SMP.

I will be eligible for tax credits AFTER baby arrives but didn't think I could apply for sure start grant if I earn more than the threshold at the moment? What's the latest you can apply for the sure start grant?

Sorry if that doesn't make sense...

Yeah apply for TC as sooon as the baby is born, then apply for the grant as soon as you get confirmed.

You should definitley be entitled to both as far as I can see

 

[rusks]

The same thing dawned on us today shaz, i really don't know how we will cope on like you say practically one wage. thanks for all the useful info we will start looking at what we are entitled to.

Our mortgage is £800 a month its frightening.

 

[jennywren]

We havn't worked out proper figures yet BUT we will just survie to pay our bills but with NO spare cash for 6 months to do ANYTHING, even go to the Pictures on a wed special of £2.50!!

CURRENTLY
Total monthly income after tax : £2350
Mortgage & Insurance & Water/electric etc etc : £1000
Personal loans / mobile phones / insurance policys / other bits and bats : £800
I usually also manage some OT during the months so get about an extra £200/£300 spends but ive packed that in with the pregnancy so this is what Im envisaging

DURING MAT LEAVE

MONTH 1 : AS ABOVE (as I get 6 weeks pay)

MOTHHS 2-6
Total income after tax including SMP : £1500
OUTGOINGS : £1800 - and thats on the current payment, will go up with baby, especially the food bill

SHORTFALL of £300 WHOOPS!!

The only saviour is I will get about £2k in Jan (a life insurance maturity) so I will save that and sub my SMP with £500 every month, which will mean only 1 MOnth we will be short..............now where's mum & Dad, I need a quick word PMSL

So Im kinda pooing it, but we are having to move hose before the baby is born so we are going to change our mortgage from C&I to Interest only so that ''should'' save us £200 a month till I get back to work, then we can bump it back to C&I. Thats the plan anyway, even though when I think about it I worry, I kinda also on the other hand just dont care, i guess its to far away for me to worry so much yet!

 

[Rubys mummy]

Pooing myself too, we have applied for a mortgage break, you can get up to 6 months hoilday so we will be taking them when I am off, and that will cover the £500 a month for mortgage..
The payments get tagged onto your balance, so we will end up paying an extra £10 a month for reminder of the mortgage (which luckily is 13 years) xx

 

[Lyndsey]

I have been worried about this too...I am in the same position as you with work not paying any extra.. I tried to save £200 a month from when I found out but things keep happening which have meant me spending the money ie) this week I had to put 3 new tyres on my car at £85 each!!!!!!!

Hubby is in a position where he can work overtime... so I don't think I am going to see him much! We are not entitled to tax credits as our joint annual income when both working is over £50,000 ( we are both on about £22500 but hubbys overtime gets thrown in.) With me not working thats us down to one wage but because they base the tax credits on last years earnings we get nothing...... I will be looking forward to the family allowance!!!! At least thats something.........

I have started buying my shopping from Tescos online and setting my self a strict budget.. if I can do that now when I don't need to then maybe when baby is born things will be a little easier!

The one good thing about this though is if you decide that you don't want to go back to work then you do not owe work anything and will be free to leave..... if they paid a contribution towards your mat pay ie) half your wages for 6 months then you would have to give this back...........So I am trying to look on this positively!

Lyndsey

 

Regards to earnings and tax credits, if this years earninghs is expected toi be less than last years then tell them that Lyndsey. We have to ammend ours if anything changes at all, like our income, our rent beneifit, when damien got disability allowance for his breathing and stuff, its all accounted as it is today, not last years.

If I'd of used the last years earning when we originally worked ours out, we would have got barely anything, but because I hadn't worked much of the current tax year (that we applied in) we stated that and of course we were entitled to more money.

Hope that helps a bit guys. I know its daunting being faced with the less money, but it does work out in the end. x