UK- Maternity Allowance | How to Claim | Step-by-Step Guide

Today we will discuss the latest and complete guidance on Maternity Allowance provided by the UK government. Do you know you can get up to £172 per week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings, for up to 39 weeks? If you are employed or have recently stopped working.

1. What do we mean by maternity allowance?

When you take time off work to give birth, you may be eligible to receive maternity allowance.

It might be yours if you:

• are employed but not eligible for SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay)
• work for themselves
• have just stopped being employed
• engage in volunteer work for your spouse’s or civil partner’s company

Maternity Allowance is payable for a maximum of 39 weeks.

As soon as your pregnancy has lasted 26 weeks, you are eligible to apply for Maternity Allowance. Up to eleven weeks prior to your baby’s due date, payments may begin.

2. What is the eligibility requirement for Maternity allowance?

Maternity Allowance is payable for up to 39 weeks if you have been one of the following:

• at least 26 weeks of self-employment during the 66 weeks leading up to the due date of your child
• working for at least 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks leading up to your baby’s due date

If you have had a job, it must have been for at least 13 weeks and you must have earned (or been classified as earning) at least £30 per week. It’s not necessary for the weeks to coincide.

If you recently quit your job, you might still be eligible. It makes no difference if you’ve held various jobs or experienced unemployment.

You can use the maternity entitlement calculator to check your eligibility.

3. If you do unpaid work for your spouse or civil partner’s business

Up to 14 weeks of Maternity Allowance may be granted to you if, for a minimum of 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks leading up to your baby’s due date, you:

• have performed unpaid labor for your spouse’s or civil partner’s business
• never held a job or worked for themselves
• During the same 26-week period, your partner or spouse has to:
• possess an HMRC self-employment registration.
• make contributions to Class 2 National Insurance.

4. What if you lose the baby?

You might still be eligible if the child is either:

• from the beginning of the 24th week of pregnancy, a stillborn
• born alive at any stage of the gestational cycle

5. What you’ll get?

Use the maternity entitlement calculator to work out how much you could get

• If you are currently employed or if you recently quit your job, If you are employed or have recently stopped working, you will receive £172.48 per week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is less, for a maximum of 39 weeks.
• Maternity Allowance is payable for a maximum of 39 weeks. This implies that the last 13 weeks of your 52-week statutory maternity leave will be paid for without receiving pay.

If you work for yourself

If you work for yourself, you can make between £27 and £172.48 per week for a maximum of 39 weeks.

The number of Class 2 National Insurance contributions you made in the 66 weeks prior to the due date will determine how much you receive.To receive £172.48 weekly, you need to have:

• been registered for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks leading up to the due date of your baby with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
• contributed to Class 2 National Insurance for at least 13 of the 66 weeks leading up to the due date of the child

Your Maternity Allowance will be computed based on the number of weeks you have made Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you have paid fewer than 13 weeks of contributions.

You are eligible to receive £27 per week in Maternity Allowance if you haven’t paid any Class 2 National Insurance contributions.

After you apply, you can increase your Maternity Allowance by topping up your contributions.

Boost your maternity benefit

If you haven’t paid your Class 2 National Insurance for more than 13 weeks after applying, HMRC will get in touch with you. They will advise you of the number of additional contributions required in order to receive the full Maternity Allowance.

For a maximum of 39 weeks, you can receive between £27 and £172.48 per week, depending on how many additional contributions you make.

Payments will be increased and, if needed, retroactively linked to your Maternity Allowance application once your additional contributions have been linked. This might require a few weeks.

Contributions to Class 2 National Insurance are £3.45 a week.

If you work for your spouse’s or civil partner’s business without getting paid

If you perform unpaid work for your spouse’s or civil partner’s business, you can receive £27 per week for a maximum of 14 weeks.

6. How you’re paid?

Every two to four weeks, maternity allowance is paid.

All benefits, pensions and allowances are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account.

Effect on other benefits

When you claim Maternity Allowance, some of your other benefit payments may change, but your total benefit payments will usually either go up or stay the same.

The benefits affected are:

• Universal Credit
• bereavement benefits
• Carer’s Allowance
• Council Tax Reduction
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) – this will stop if you get Maternity Allowance

You may also be affected by the benefit cap, which limits the total amount of benefit you can get. It applies to most people aged 16 or over who have not reached State Pension age.

If you get Universal Credit

Your Universal Credit payment will be reduced by an amount equal to your Maternity Allowance payment.

You may get an extra amount of Universal Credit for your children (whether you get Maternity Allowance or not).

Report a change on your Universal Credit account if you start getting Maternity Allowance.

Which benefits you get will affect which National Insurance credits you’re eligible for. If you get Universal Credit:

• with Maternity Allowance payments you get Class 1 National Insurance credits, which help you qualify for some other benefits and State Pension
• without Maternity Allowance payments you get Class 3 National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension only

If you’ve been paid too much

You may have to repay the money if you:

• did not report a change straight away
• gave wrong information
• were overpaid by mistake

Find out how to repay the money you owe from benefit overpayment.

7. How to claim