Question about Maternity Allowance calculation

[Sanne Panne]

I'm pregnant and won't qualify for statutory maternity pay (SMP) but will qualify for maternity allowance (MA) because I'm self employed.

Directgov states the conditions for MA as follows:

You may be eligible if:

you've been employed and/or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in your 'test period' (66 weeks up to and including the week before the week your baby is due). Part weeks count as full weeks; and

you earned ?30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in your test period

And it states the calculation of the amount as follows:

Maternity Allowance pays a standard weekly rate of ?123.06 or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings (before tax), whichever is the smaller.

My question is: is MA calculated over the entire 66 week period (including all the weeks you weren't working and therefore had zero income, making the average income over the entire 66 week period very low) or only over the weeks you were actually employed and generating an income? I was a stay-at-home mum for most of 2009 and will have only worked for about 42 weeks in the aforementioned 'week before the week my baby is due'.

Thanks for any insights anyone can give me! Will probably call them next week but am getting a bit nervous...

[Sanne Panne]

I'm pregnant and won't qualify for statutory maternity pay (SMP) but will qualify for maternity allowance (MA) because I'm self employed.

Directgov states the conditions for MA as follows:

You may be eligible if:

you've been employed and/or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in your 'test period' (66 weeks up to and including the week before the week your baby is due). Part weeks count as full weeks; and

you earned ?30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in your test period

And it states the calculation of the amount as follows:

Maternity Allowance pays a standard weekly rate of ?123.06 or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings (before tax), whichever is the smaller.

My question is: is MA calculated over the entire 66 week period (including all the weeks you weren't working and therefore had zero income, making the average income over the entire 66 week period very low) or only over the weeks you were actually employed and generating an income? I was a stay-at-home mum for most of 2009 and will have only worked for about 42 weeks in the aforementioned 'week before the week my baby is due'.

Thanks for any insights anyone can give me! Will probably call them next week but am getting a bit nervous...

[Fuschia]

I believe it is based on your gross earnings for any 13 weeks of your choice during the test period (the 66 weeks before the week you expect to give birth). The 13 weeks do not have to be consecutive.

Here is a link to the application form, which has details on it: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/ma1_print.pdf

[Fuschia]

I believe it is based on your gross earnings for any 13 weeks of your choice during the test period (the 66 weeks before the week you expect to give birth). The 13 weeks do not have to be consecutive.

Here is a link to the application form, which has details on it: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/ma1_print.pdf

[Sanne Panne]

I like the "of your choice" bit! Off to read the form now, thanks!

[Sanne Panne]

I like the "of your choice" bit! Off to read the form now, thanks!