Sure Start Maternity Grant

[swazzle]

Hi girls,

Looking for some advice,

I sent my ssmg form off on 17th december and today i have recieved a letter back saying im not entitled to it, i am not working, I signed off of income based jobseekers allowance at 29 weeks to claim income support and maternity allowance(wasnt sure which one i'd be entitled to so sent all the forms away as i had been working in a stable job for 3 years and got paid off 3 days after i told them i was pregnant but thats a whole other story) They have came back and said as i am not on any benefit i am not able to claim for it, Do i have to wait till i get approved for income support and then apply again or if i am eligable for maternity allowance claim after baby is born when i claim tax credits?

Been waiting 3 weeks without any income and kinda struggling to pay for anything.

All this is clueless

Hazel x

 

[kim88]

Hi there, I'm in the exact same position so I'm also keen for some advice.

 

[swazzle]

Must be something to do with us glasgow women eh!

Where about in glasgow are you?

H x

 

[nutty]

As annoying as it is you will have to wait until your income support has been approved and then reapply, hopefully it won't take too much longer for your IS to come through

 

[MrsRH]

from the sound of it you will be entitled to MA.
I'd reapply once the baby is born.
xxx

 

[littleblonde]

It says on the govenrment site that you can apply for it when yoru on income based job seekers. Which you said you where on. So its werid yiou where not excepted. However reapply when your income surport come through. I did hear you have to be on the highest amount of income surport but i cant apply so that info maybe wrong. To get maturnity pay you need to of worked for 26 weeks of the 66 weeks leading upto when your baby is due. I dont no when you where let go but if you have worked for that period of time then you can apply. You can appeal against there decision so why not do that rather than waiting. At least you will no where you stand

 

[kim88]

thanks for the advice

oh and i'm in colston nutty

 

[Marleysgirl]

It says on the govenrment site that you can apply for it when yoru on income based job seekers. Which you said you where on. So its werid yiou where not excepted. However reapply when your income surport come through.

And this is the irony of the setup.

You are entitled to the SSMG if you are on JSA(IB) or IS.

You can be on JSA(IB) until 29wks, then they transfer you onto either IS or MA.

You cannot claim the SSMG until after 29wks.

You cannot claim the SSMG if you are on MA.

So if you have been transferred onto MA, you cannot get the SSMG because you are no longer on a qualifying benefit at the point in time when the grant becomes claimable.

Great, isn't it!

Luckily, the SSMG is still claimable once the baby is born (through CTC), but it negates the idea that the grant is to buy stuff ready for the baby's arrival. So you don't actually miss out, you just have to wait, and beg/borrow/buy stuff on credit before the birth.

To the OP - if you get awarded IS, then claim your grant. If you get awarded MA, revel in the slightly higher income level, and claim the grant after the birth.