Maternity Allowance - is it contributions based?

sarah1980

I have been employed by the same employer for the past 8 months approx. I do not qualify for SMP as I'm just short of the number of weeks you must have worked for an employer in order to claim.

Is it worth me applying for Maternity Allowance? My last 3 payslips show an income of around £500 per month, I have not paid any NIC's though due to my earnings being too low.

I have researched this online but get so many conflicting reports about whether MA is dependent on NICs or not, I have no idea what what.

Also, is MA means tested? Hubby works FT so we don't get any other benefits or tax credits.

pmlindyloo

This is a very useful website and has a calculator if you carry on reading through the links:

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/overview

sarah1980

Hi, thanks for this I have seen this before, however it doesn't address specifically whether it is dependent on NICs and every part of the questionnaire seems to say "you MAY be entitled" which is not really definitive! According to them I MAY be entitled as I have been employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before EDD and earned more than £30 a week on average. But if you google "maternity allowance contribution based", a number of employment law websites state that qualification for MA is subject to the claimant having paid enough class 1's in the relevant tax year.

pmlindyloo

This is from CAB's Adviceguide:

Who can get Maternity Allowance

You can get Maternity Allowance if you have been working recently or you have stopped working to have a child. You must have been working for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before you are due to give birth. It does not matter if these weeks are split up, or if they are not all for the same employer. You can claim Maternity Allowance if you do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, as long as you have been earning at least £30 a week on average. This can be from employed work or self-employed work. Maternity Allowance does not depend on national insurance contributions.

sarah1980

Yes thank you I read this also, but also this: http://www.emplaw.co.uk/lawguide?startpage=data/08500301.htm

carebear13

yes- but it also says 'credited with' and that is the difference. the easist thing to do would be to phone them and ask surely!! instead of running around in circles. dont forget that if you claim ma YOU pick the weeks the use to calculate your amount, and they dont have to be consecutive either, so although your wage may not have been high enough in your employers qualifying period they may well be if you use any of the other 13 weeks for your test period.

pmlindyloo

This is from the same website

Maternity Allowance is paid by social security or Jobcentre Plus offices. It is tax free. It is no longer dependent on payment of NI contributions - it ceased to be a contributory benefit in 2000. It can be claimed any time after the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth.

Since Statutory Maternity Pay is not in that list (and this does depend on NI contributions) then a mistake has been made on the page you gave a link for.

sarah1980

Thanks, obviously I have tried ringing them! But can never get through and don't have time or money to be on the phone all day. I will try to get the SMP1 form from my employer ASAP (baby arriving in 2 weeks) and send it all off.