anxious and confused

maz_rina

Hi , after 10 years of trying for children we have just found out im pregnant with twins !!! I am the higher earner £30k a year and my husband about 18k a year. I will be paid maternity pay at 90 per cent for 6 weeks then it drops to approx £128 pound a week ! am I able to claim from the 6 weeks untill i return to work ?? if so what ?? really anxious about what will happen after the initial 6 weeks , i plan to return to work 6 months after the twins are born. Any advice is muchly welcome then maybe I can get on and enjoy this pregnancy:o

kingfisherblue

Congratulations!

I don't think you can claim anything until after the babies are born, then you will be able to claim child benefit (£20.30 a week for one child and about £13 a week for the second). You might also be able to claim child tax credits, but I know this depends on income and I don't know enough about how much, if any, it would be. Your joint income is quite high, probably too hoigh for CTC, although you might be able to claim for the time you are on maternity leave.

You might want to take a look at your outgoings and see where you can make savings before the babies are born. Also, try to put some money away for the time that you are off work.

Don't buy much for the babies - there are some threads on the families board that discuss what is neecessary and what people have found to be a waste of money. It might be worth reading some of them.

xylophone

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/index.htm - worth a look.

amus

You should be able to claim tax credits, however, because your income is assessed on the previous years, I think you have to ring HMRC and ask them to use this years income.

LL30

Don't forget the £100 a week SMP disregard and a huge congratulations to you x

gingergee

absolutley nothing constructive to say...except CONGRATS!!!! Lol, this post made me smile x H & H 9 months xxx

McKneff

Twins WOW, massive congratulations to you both.

The_Write_Girl

Many congrats! I'm on SMP at the moment and a little tip is to save as much NOW as you can. My outgoings inc mortgage etc are not even covered by SMP. My OH doesn't earn as much as me but we are both higher rate taxpayers. You'll probably get as angry as I am right now when you see how much is given to unemployed pregnant woman on benefits! Judging by your income you may be eligible for £10 a week tax credits (?) in addition to child benefit.

maz_rina

Thanks all for your kind comments x x x x