0 Maternity Allowance

Maternity Allowance is usually paid to you if you don’t qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.

You could get either £135.45 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). It’s paid for up to 39 weeks.

You can claim Maternity Allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start 11 weeks before your baby is due.

Any money you get can affect your other benefits.

 

1What you'll get

You can get a weekly rate of either £135.45 or 90% of your average weekly earnings before tax (whichever is lower).

Maternity Allowance is paid every 2 or 4 weeks for up to 39 weeks.

You can claim Maternity Allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start 11 weeks before your baby is due.

Use the maternity entitlement calculator (online form calculator), to work out how much you could get.

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2How you’re paid

All benefits, pensions and allowances are paid into an account, eg a bank account.

Impact on other benefits

Maternity Allowance won’t affect your tax credits but it will affect how much you get for:

  • Council Tax Benefit
  • Housing Benefit
  • Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Jobseeker’s Allowance - this will stop if you get Maternity Allowance
  • Bereavement Benefits
  • Carer’s Allowance
From April 2013 a limit will be put on the total amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to 64 can get. This is called a benefit cap.

 

Eligibility

You might get Maternity Allowance if:

Also, you must have:

  • been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due
  • been earning at least £30 a week over any 13 week period

You may still qualify if you’ve recently stopped working and it doesn’t matter if you had different jobs or periods of unemployment.

Use the maternity entitlement calculator (online form calculator), to check your eligibility.

If you lose the baby

You may still qualify if the baby is either:

  • stillborn from the start of the 24th week of pregnancy
  • born alive at any point during the pregnancy

Change of circumstances

Report any changes to your circumstances to your local Jobcentre Plus as they can affect how much you get. For example, if you go back to work.

 

How to claim

Send form MA1 to the address on the form.

The form comes with notes to help you fill it in. The ‘interactive version’ can be filled out on a computer.

Download ‘Form MA1, Maternity Allowance claim form’ (PDF, 250KB)
Download ‘Form MA1 interactive version, Maternity Allowance claim form’ (PDF, 440KB)

 

Jobcentre Plus

Telephone: 0800 055 6688
Textphone: 0800 023 4888
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

What you need to know

You can claim Maternity Allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start 11 weeks before your baby is due.

You need to provide:

  • proof of your income - eg, original payslips, Small Earnings Exemption Certificate (if applicable)
  • proof of the baby’s due date - eg a letter from the doctor or midwife or your MATB1 certificate
  • your SMP1 form - only if you were refused Statutory Maternity Pay by your employer

Appeal a decision

You can appeal the decision about your Maternity Allowance if you’re unhappy with it.

Download ‘Leaflet GL24 / dg_201702, Appeal against a benefit decision’ (PDF, 5000KB)

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