Maternity Leave - what do I need to save?

bubblybee

My other half and I are looking to start having children next year.

My maternity leave is very ordinary. 90% of full pay for 6 weeks then SMP. Ignoring the first 6 weeks, the SMP is approximately £900 less than what I take home every month.

If I was to save the equivalent of £900 to match that £900 (which happens to be the equivalent of my mortgage) I'd be saving for 3 or more years. How do people manage? Is there a website or a tool to work out if there are any other tax relief I can have.

One option is for my other half to take extended paternity leave. He takes home abotu £300 less a month than I do but would he be entitled to any of what I would i.e. SMP?

Where can I go for help. I'm so confused. I know that between us we are on a good wage but apart from the savings we are making £300 a month for maternity pay, £100 for pensions and £100 for Christmas/Holiday/Presents, I don't see how people cope with maternity pay let alone childcare afterwards (which is a whole new question).

Any ideas?

lauren2007

Hi

Its not much compared to how much your income is going down, but you will probably be entitled to child benefit which is £20.30 per week for your 1st child.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/TaxCreditsandChildBenefit/Childbenefits/Gettingstarted/ChildBenefitandwhoqualifies/DG_073770

You may also be entitled to working tax credits or child tax credits.

clairec79

I worked out how much I had left over each month (by left over I mean non-essentials or wasted - which included the early christmas presents and baby stuff I brought in advance), and could take a drop of that much, coupled with the amount I spend on petrol and the amount of child tax credit and the baby element of tax credit (go back end of April so for most of my mat leave I get that) - I also paid the full council tax for the year while i was working so didn't have that to pay while off

that said I'm going back in 6 months rather than taking the full time off

twi1ight

I think a previous poster had a good idea. Work out how much you need to survive while on SMP and then aim to save the shortfall so you know you'll have the bills covered. This is what I'm planning to do. Eg I need £900 for food and bills but SMP is £500 so I want to have at least £400 x 9 if I want to have 9 months on SMP. The way I plan to save it is to start living on that amount now (spend £900 on bills + food) so that I can save the rest and get used to surviving on less so it's not such a shock when mat leave starts (think I'll a big enough shock in having a child!).

Unfortunately I don't think you can split the leave between parents. Some countries do and even encourage it. I vaguely remember murmerings on the news though bit thought it was all just ideas. Could be wrong.

twi1ight

Forgot to add, I'm resigned to the fact I'll have less disposable income after having kids. It's a sacrifice all parents (I imagine) have to take.

onlyroz

I only took 4 months maternity leave, but I was allowed to carry over 2 weeks annual leave from the previous year, and then I alternated annual leave between myself and my husband so that our daughter didn't have to start nursery until she was 6 months. And then the damn company changed it's maternity policy to give full salary for 3 months grrrrrrrrr.

Regarding childcare, childcare voucher, child benefit and tax credits all help. Sympathetic grandparents are a godsend as well...

lauren2007

Depending on when you return to work your partner could take up to 26weeks paternity leave on Statutory Paternity Pay.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Paternityrightsintheworkplace/DG_190788

annibee

Also dont forget when you are on mat leave you will have less outgoings....

So for us I knew the following would be less
*Car insurance (as it was up for renewal)
*Petrol (as I would no longer be driving to work)
*Childcare - as I would have ds1 at home whilst on mat leave
*Home insurance also up for renewal

you might have other outgoings that will reduce once your on mat leave.

Dunno how people do it its just one of those things that you do.
I am getting maternity pay from work though so I know that helps. I have worked out all our costs and we will just about manage for my mat leave until my smp is up then I will take a couple weeks annual leave at the end of my maternity pay for another boost before I go back to work.

Its all about sitting down and calculating over and over again lol.

Princess_Coupon

clairec79 wrote: »

I worked out how much I had left over each month (by left over I mean non-essentials or wasted - which included the early christmas presents and baby stuff I brought in advance), and could take a drop of that much, coupled with the amount I spend on petrol and the amount of child tax credit and the baby element of tax credit (go back end of April so for most of my mat leave I get that) - I also paid the full council tax for the year while i was working so didn't have that to pay while off

that said I'm going back in 6 months rather than taking the full time off

The baby element ends on the 5th of April I'm afraid

onlyroz

lauren2007 wrote: »

Depending on when you return to work your partner could take up to 26weeks paternity leave on Statutory Paternity Pay.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Paternityrightsintheworkplace/DG_190788

Finally, a policy that is (almost) enlightened.

Presumably, companies that "top-up" statutory maternity pay would also "top-up" this Additional Statutory Paternity Pay

pebblespop

i agree with twilight. work out the bare minimum you need for bills food etc, add up smp and child benefit, tax credits and see what the shortfall is. this is what you will need to save between now and starting mat leave.