Eight money tips new parents need to know about including £500 free cash grants

NEW parents will have a million things to think about when they bring their baby back home. 

And while the experience of having your first child can be overwhelming – it’s important to spare some thought for your finances.

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As the cost of living bites, new parents should get all the help they can[/caption]

Kids are expensive and you should get your ducks in a row to make sure you are getting all the help you can. 

The Sun has put a list together of everything you need to know about how to keep costs down – so all you need to worry about is not sleeping for the next year. 

The government also has a useful website that outlines all of the financial help you might be able to get if you have children.

Have a look to see if you are due money that is on offer. 

Sure Start Maternity Grant

When you have a new baby, you could get a one-off payment of £500 from the government to help towards the costs of having a child. 

This is known as a Sure Start Maternity Grant. It’s free cash and you don’t have to pay it back.

You usually qualify for the grant if both of the following apply:

• You’re expecting your first child, or you’re expecting a multiple birth (such as twins) and have children already. 

• You or your partner already get certain benefits. 

These benefits include Universal Credit. A full list can be found here. 

If you already have children under 16 you may still be able to get some money, but only in certain circumstances. You should check on the government’s website to see if you are eligible. 

If you live in Scotland, you won’t be able to get a Sure Start Maternity Grant but you can apply for a Pregnancy and Baby Payment instead. 

Maternity and paternity pay and shared parental leave

Maternity Pay

When you take time off work to have a baby, you might be eligible for statutory maternity leave and statutory maternity pay. 

This means that you will be able to take time off work and get paid a certain amount by your employer. 

It is worth remembering that there is a difference between Maternity Leave and Maternity Pay. 

Maternity Leave is the amount of time you can have off to look after your baby and maternity pay is how much money you could be given while you aren’t working. 

Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks. It’s made up of:

• Ordinary Maternity Leave – first 26 weeks
• Additional Maternity Leave – last 26 weeks

You don’t have to take 52 weeks but you must take 2 weeks’ leave after your baby is born (or 4 weeks if you work in a factory).

Usually, the earliest you can start your leave is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth.

Statutory Maternity Pay is the amount of cash you are given when not working. 

The amount you get paid on maternity isn’t the same as when you are working. 

You can be paid for up to 39 weeks. You get:

• 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first six weeks.
• £156.66 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.

SMP is paid in the same way as your wages (for example monthly or weekly). Tax and National Insurance will be deducted.

Not everyone can get statutory maternity leave and statutory maternity pay. 

To be eligible for statutory maternity leave you have to either be employee not a ‘worker’ and you must give your employer the correct notice. 

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been with your employer, how many hours you work or how much you get paid. 

To qualify for SMP you must:

• earn on average at least £123 a week
• give the correct notice and proof you’re pregnant
• have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks continuing into the ‘qualifying week’ – the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth

If you are in doubt whether you are eligible, you can use this government tool to check your eligibility.

There are also rules you have to follow around how to claim maternity leave and pay, such as giving proof you’re pregnant and telling your employer. 

You should check on the government’s website to make sure you do things properly so that you can claim the money. 

The government also has a full guide on maternity pay which you can read here. 

Paternity Pay 

Men can take time off from work when their partner is having a baby, adopting a child or having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement. 

But the amount of time they can take is a lot less. 

You might be eligible for:

• One or two weeks’ paid Paternity Leave
• Paternity Pay

The weekly rate for paternity pay is £156.66, or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).

You may not get both leave and pay, and there are rules on how to claim and when your leave can start.

In terms of eligibility you must be taking time off work to look after the child and be the father, the husband or partner of the mother, the child’s adopter or the intended parent (if you are having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement). 

You can read the full rules on eligibility on the government’s website. It’s always worth checking to make sure you can benefit. 

Shared Parental Leave

Sometimes you and your partner may be able to get Shared Parental Leave and Statutory Shared Parental Pay. 

This is means if a mum wants to go back to work, and a dad doesn’t, you can still make the most of parental leave payments and time off. 

You can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between you.

You need to share the pay and leave in the first year after your child is born or placed with your family.

More details are on the government’s website.

Maternity Allowance 

Mums who are taking maternity leave are generally entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) from their employer.

But in some circumstances they may not be eligible, for instance if they lost or left their job recently.

And women working for themselves don’t have an employer to pay them SMP.

Instead they may be eligible for the Maternity Allowance which is paid by the government and is worth up to £156.66 a week.

Maternity Allowance is worth different amounts, spending on your situation.

• 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax) up to a maximum of £156.66 a week for 39 weeks
• £27 a week for 39 weeks, or
• £27 a week for 14 weeks.

You could be eligible for Maternity Allowance if you’re not entitled to maternity pay, if you’re self employed or if you’ve recently stopped working.

The following must apply within the previous 66 weeks of your due date too:

• You must have been either employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks
• You must have been earning (or classed as earning) £30 a week or more in at least 13 weeks – the weeks do not have to be together

If you’re self-employed you must have paid Class 2 National Insurance for at least 13 of the 66 weeks to get the full amount of £151.97 a week.

If this isn’t the case, you will still get £27 a week for 39 weeks.

You can find out more about Maternity Allowance and if you are eligible on the government’s website. 

Child benefit

Child benefit is money that the government pays you when you have a child to help you get by. 

There are two rates: for your eldest or only child you can get £21.80 a week, and for any additional children you get £14.45 per week per child. 

Child Benefit is usually paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.

There are some tax rules if you or your partner earn over £50,000, so it is worth having a look on the government’s website to make sure you are clear about your personal situation.  

According to Citizen’s Advice, you can claim Child Benefit at any time, but it’s best to do it as soon as your child is born or comes to live with you.

If you’ve just had a baby you need to register the birth before you claim. 

Your Child Benefit will be backdated to when the child was born – up to a maximum of three months – so you won’t miss out on payments.

Citizen’s Advice has a handy list of all the things you’ll need to register for child benefit, such as your national insurance number.

They also give step by step instructions on how to apply for it. 

Childcare support

The government offers people support with childcare. This will really come in handy – as childcare can be very expensive.

Not everyone is eligible for support with their childcare. The best thing to do is use the government’s tool to see what you can get. 

Two types of help available are tax-free childcare and 30 hours free childcare – but the latter is only for when your child hits three years old. 

With tax-free childcare, you can get up to £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. 

This goes up to £1,000 every three months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).

You can use it to pay for approved childcare, such as:

• childminders, nurseries and nannies
• after school clubs and play schemes

If you are on Universal Credit, you might be able to claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs.

The most you can get back each month is:

• £646 for one child
• £1,108 for two or more children

You (and your partner if you live with them) will usually need to either:

• be working – it does not matter how many hours you or your partner work
• have a job offer

Read more about what might be available to you on the government’s website. 

When your child is a bit older you can get 30 hours free childcare a week. 

But unfortunately this is only available when your child is between the ages of three and four. So new parents won’t benefit. 

Healthy start vouchers

The healthy start scheme is designed to help families cover the cost of healthy food for their kids.

Healthy start vouchers can help you buy fresh food and drink for your children.

If you’re on a low income, the scheme could be worth as much as £442 a year.

Each healthy start voucher is currently worth £4.25 a week, and over a year that adds up to £221.

It’s worth double that if you have a child under the age of one as you’ll be eligible for two vouchers each week, so it’s up to £442.

There used to be paper vouchers, but that’s just been replaced by a prepaid card, so you’ll get the amounts added to that instead automatically every four weeks.

You can use the healthy start prepaid card at any location where Mastercard is accepted.

You can get the help if you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under the age of four.

You’ll need to be claiming certain benefits to qualify. These include: 

• Child Tax Credit and an annual income of less than £16,190
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit and income of £408 or less per month from employment

You can find out more about the Healthy Start Scheme on the NHS’ website. 

When to apply to nurseries 

When you bring your baby back from the hospital, you might already be looking to the future and thinking about where they might go to nursery. 

In terms of saving money, a good time for your child to go to nursery is when they are three years old as that is when the 30-hour free childcare scheme comes into effect. 

The government has a tool that helps you find a nursery place for your child. 

It will direct you to your local authority which should be able to help you find what nurseries are on offer. 

Sending your first child to a nursery can be a daunting experience. 

It’s always worth looking up your nursery using Ofsted’s inspection search tool to see what it is like and making sure it is run well.

Getting life insurance 

Life insurance allows you to make sure that if you die, money will be left behind to take care of your family.

This money comes in several forms and can be made in regular payments or in lump sums.

The amount of money that is paid out depends on the life insurance policy that you buy.

You can decide how it will be paid out and whether it will cover specific payments like rent or a mortgage.

Websites like comparethemarket.com to see what the best deal is. 

Remember, if you do have a pre-existing medical condition it can be hard to find life insurance or you can end up paying higher premiums.