New baby on the way, what am i entitled to!?

kelz_lvs_pete

Hi Everyone,

Probs been loadz of posts about this b4, but I haven't seen:(! Can you please let me know of anything I am entitled to, I am 19 years old, with a baby (boy) due in January. Work but dnt earn all that much:(! Thinkin of movin out !

Is ther anything am due from DSS or Inland Revenue or anything!?

Gettin scared for how much this babys goin to cost me:(!

Thanks

Kelz
xXx

AGB863

I am presuming you are going to be a single parent.
Depending on your contract of employment / how long you have worked you could be entiltled to statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. The 1st one is paid by your employer, but if not you ot entilted to it you can claim the second one through the DWP.

After the baby is born you will get child benefit, £17 /week for the first child and you will also have to claim child tax credits. One you have claimed child tax credits you can claim a Sure Start Maternity grant which is £500.

After the SMP /MA has finished you can claim Icome Support for yourself.

nickinoo

You can actually claim the Surestart grant whilst pregnant-don't leave it too long until after the birth or you will miss out.

mummytofour

Yes, sure start grant can be claimed for 29 weeks pg, job centre plus will have the form for you.

Ted_Hutchinson

BC1 DWP Booklet October 2004 Babies and children

AGB863

Sure start mat grant - at 29 weeks this can only be claimed if you are getting income support or you are already getting child tax credits.

You have up to 3 months after baby is born to be able to claim it once you have claimed a qualifying benefir, ie child tax credit or IS

jellyhead

the leaflet ted posted has all the info you need, you should have got a copy of the leaflet in your bounty pack that the midwife gave you at the start of pregnancy.

don't forget your prescriptions and dental work will be free while pregnant and until baby is one. once you're on income support (is it still called that?) you will get milk tokens for a free pint of milk each day, you can give them to a milkman and get one delivered fresh every day if you want. i think you can still use it for a tin of formula milk if you're not breastfeeding. if you're on income support there will also be help with rent and council tax. i managed okay on income support when i had my eldest, i got a loan from the social fund to help with buying things for the house such as a bad, cot, cooker. look on ebay for maternity and baby clothes cheap. good luck, and congratulations :-)

happy_t

Have you registered with your local authority/social landlord (eg. bromford, focus etc) for housing?
You're probably entitled to council tax benefit & housing benefit too if you're not working. You can get HB paid directly to your landlord to pay your rent for you.

hex2

if you look at https://www.tiger.gov.uk it tells you what you get in terms of maternity pay. you can also run a best guess through the inland revenue systems to work out how much child tax credit you would get once the baby is born - this can run into £100 per week if you are on £15k.
one thing to consider is that if you resign after 25 weeks pregnant (check this I am not 100% certain how many weeks) you automatically qualify for maternity pay/maternity allowance based on your earnings at that point.
Cost of a baby at the top end is as much as you want to spend - bottom end is that child benefit will cover milk, nappies and basic clothes, sure start grant of £500 will do basic pram, cot etc. The major costs are about child care.
Tell people you want stuff! People are so generous with baby stuff that they have hardly used but may not offer if they think they will offend you.

jellyhead

if you try washable nappies, your council might give you a refund towards the cost. i'm getting a cheque for £30, i bought my nappies second hand off ebay so they weren't much. there are lots of threads on here about washables, which brands are best etc. for if you don't have a line to dry them on.

newmum1

hi there here are the benefits that you can claim child tax credit and child benefit once the baby is born, you will also recieve housing beneift anc council tax benefit. a sure start grant of £ 500 payable up til baby is three months old. just try and claim everything that you are entitled to before the baby is three months old.