Statutory Maternity Pay

I am currently off work (on annual leave so still being paid until June 10th) on June 10th my “maternity leave” will start where I get no pay other than the Statutory Maternity Pay, my partner will be working but to be honest, how does anyone survive off of the SMP? Please can anyone help with how I go about applying for first start grant, universal credit, child benefit? Can I apply for all? Do I have to wait until I’m on maternity pay (after my annual leave)? What are the rules. I am pregnant with twins and due in the next 5 weeks and all these different things, I’m so confused by it all.

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Hi I was in a similar situation last year I went on annual leave in August and had my baby in September. We couldn’t apply for the child benefit until after we had our baby and his birth certificate. We were back paid till his date of birth. The first start grant you can apply for now. Me and my partner weren’t eligible for that as we earned too much as a household. And I don’t know how to go about universal credit. Hope this helps and congratulations x

You can see here if you can apply for UC. Child benefit will have to wait until baby is born but I agree, SMP is not enough at all, I had to cut short my maternity leave

https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

If you goggle benefit calculator it’ll ask you questions then work out what you can apply for and give you direct links to apply.

I was eligible for the best start grant while I was working, but once I had my baby and was on universal credit I applied again and got accepted as my income had dropped. You’ll also get your Scottish child payment monthly (£106). You can choose for your child benefits to be weekly or monthly. Also universal credit. If you receive UC, you will be entitled to a best start food card which gets topped up monthly it’s around £40, which helps with formula, baby food and also food shops x

The government website has links to a few different calculators which should give you an idea of what you'd be entitled to. You might be best to find somewhere local that can help you, normally council/job centre or a citizens advice centre https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/extra-help