Pregnant? Congratulations! All mothers, fathers or co-parents to-be can request the Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount.
You can apply right at the very onset of your pregnancy. The payment can be made from 2 months prior to your expected delivery date.
Pregnant? Congratulations! You can apply for a Starting Amount or Maternity Allowance right at the very onset of your pregnancy. The expectant mother’s details are the sole requirement for submitting an application. If you would like to receive the Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount prior to the birth of your child, then we also require a doctor's certificate specifying the expected delivery date.
This depends on when you submit your application!
Does your application concern the birth of your first child? Then you will receive your Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount via one of our weekly payments as soon after submitting your request as possible.
Does the application concern the birth of your second or subsequent child? You will receive your Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount once we have received the birth notification from the municipality.
We will pay the Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount via one of our weekly payments as soon after submitting your request as possible.
You will receive the Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount 2 months prior to your expected delivery date. We make the payments once per week.
The Starting Amount is the new name for the Maternity Allowance or Birth Premium in Flanders. Brussels and Wallonia still refer to this as the Maternity Allowance.
These terms all refer to the same thing: the amount that you receive during pregnancy or following the birth of your child. Curious about how much Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount you will receive upon the birth of your child? Use our handy simulation tool!
If the application concerns the birth of your first child, then you can submit your request online or send the birth certificate to KidsLife.
What if the application does not concern the birth of your first child and you are already a KidsLife customer? Good news! In this scenario, you needn't submit an application and we will commence payment of your Starting Amount or Maternity Allowance as soon as possible.
The Maternity Allowance or Starting Amount are exportable within the EEA. In some cases, bilateral agreements with specific countries also apply. Such as is the case with France, Germany and Luxembourg, for example. Since different agreements apply to each country, we recommend contacting your KidsLife adviser for more information.
A stillborn child may still be entitled to the Maternity Allowance. You can arrange this by reporting the stillborn child to the municipality in the first instance. In fact, this is mandatory if the pregnancy lasted more than 180 days. Once you have submitted the certificate, you need take no further action.
You certainly can! We’ll ultimately require a certificate from your doctor or gynaecologist, however, we can already start preparing your personal file in the meantime. Once we have your doctor's certificate (prepared from your fifth month of pregnancy) in our possession, we’ll pay your Starting Amount of EUR 1,144*, at the earliest 2 months prior to your expected delivery date. Don’t worry - we’ll definitely let you know if we require additional information.
Apply for your Starting Amount
*If you live in Wallonia or Brussels, you'll receive 1122 Euro. Starting from second birth in Brussels you'll receive 510 Euro.
Child Benefit is always paid on the 8th of each month. If the 8th falls on a weekend, then we will pay it on the last working day prior to that weekend. Please check our payment calendar for the various payment dates.
The maximum age for Child Benefit and Growth Package entitlement is 25 years. From the age of 18 upwards, you must satisfy certain criteria in order to retain your Child Benefit and Growth Package entitlement. No regular or automatic substitute applies once your entitlement to Child Benefit has ceased. If your child was entitled to a Care Allowance due to a specific support requirement, then they may be entitled to a Disability Allowance once their Child Benefit entitlement has ceased. Please note that this is not an automatic entitlement. It must be requested and the application subsequently investigated.
