Maternity Allowance

What you'll get

The amount you can get depends on your eligibility.

You could get either:

  • £145.18 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less) for 39 weeks
  • £27 a week for 39 weeks
  • £27 a week for 14 weeks

Maternity Allowance is paid every 2 or 4 weeks.

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

Use the maternity entitlement calculator to work out how much you could get.

How you’re paid

All benefits, pensions and allowances are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account.

Impact on other benefits

Maternity Allowance will not affect your tax credits but it will affect how much you get for:

  • Council Tax Reduction
  • Housing Benefit
  • Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Income Support
  • Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) - this will stop if you get Maternity Allowance
  • bereavement benefits
  • Carer’s Allowance
  • Universal Credit

The benefit cap limits the amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to 64 can get. Some individual benefits are not affected, but it may affect the total amount of benefit you get.

Print entire guide

Related content