More cash for mums as Maternity Allowance rises

Financial support for mothers taking time off to care for their newborn baby will rise by £600 on Monday, representing the largest ever increase to Maternity Allowance.

Anyone eligible for the standard rate of the benefit will enjoy a 10.1 per cent rise, worth £15.82 a week, or £617 in total, the Department for Work and Pensions said.

The cash boost starts tomorrow and is expected to benefit around 40,000 mothers during their maternity leave this year.

The benefit provides financial support for those who don’t qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.

Boost: Maternity Allowance is increasing across the UK this month 

DWP minister Viscount Younger of Leckie said: ‘We want every child to have a good start in life, which is why we are increasing our support for mums.

‘This builds on our extension of free childcare for working parents from this summer, alongside an increase to the Universal Credit childcare cost cap and further help with upfront payments. 

‘These changes will help parents progress in work and earn a better living to support their family.’ 

Who can claim Maternity Allowance? 

According to the DWP, Maternity Allowance payments provide a safety net for women before and after childbirth for up to 39 weeks and are designed to cover those who do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, usually because they are on low wages or self-employed.

Maternity Allowance can be claimed from 26 weeks into pregnancy. Claims within three months after giving birth will still be entitled to the full 39 weeks’ worth of payments. Claims after that will receive some payments but not the maximum amount. 

You can get Maternity Allowance for 39 weeks if, in the 66 weeks before your baby is  due, you have been employed or registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks, or earning £30 a week or more in at least 13 of those weeks.

You may still qualify if you have recently stopped working, too. It does not matter if you had different jobs or periods of unemployment, according to the DWP.

Additionally, you may still qualify for the benefit if the baby is either stillborn from the start of the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy or born alive at any point during the pregnancy.

Crucially, you will need to report changes in your circumstances that happen while you are receiving Maternity Allowance, for example, if you go back to work.

The UK Government manages Maternity Allowance for England, Wales and Scotland. It is devolved in Northern Ireland, but mothers there have the same benefit. Northern Ireland will be increasing the benefit, and Statutory Maternity Pay, by the same amount, from £156.66 to £172.48 per week from 10 April. 

The DWP said: ‘Together, these new maternity rates set out in law will protect hundreds of thousands of mothers as they take time off to have a baby.

‘During 2021-2022, the Department for Work and Pensions paid out £360million in Maternity Allowance, supporting 46,000 mums during and after pregnancy.’

Working mothers receiving the standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay from their employer have also seen, since 2 April, a 10.1 per cent, or £15.82 a week, increase.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk