Parent money, made plain

What is your family due?

Add your due date or your baby's birthday. In ten seconds you'll see every State payment and every deadline, in date order, for your family.

By Christopher O'Callaghan, QFA, Qualified Financial Advisor, dad and founder of Lullagram

Where are you?

Nothing you type leaves this page. The amounts assume you have enough PRSI for each benefit.

Money minute 1

Does maternity leave hurt my pension?

Five cards, one minute. Swipe or tap the arrows.

1 of 5

Mostly, no

Your State pension is built from PRSI weeks. Every week you're paid Maternity, Paternity or Parent's Benefit is added to your record automatically, as if you'd worked it.

Lullagram · lullagram.ie/money
2 of 5

The weeks that slip through

The extra 16 weeks of unpaid maternity leave only count if your employer applies for the credits when you go back. The same goes for unpaid parental leave: your employer has to tell the Department of Social Protection.

Lullagram · lullagram.ie/money
3 of 5

One email in your first week back

Ask HR: "Please apply for my unpaid maternity leave credits, and my parental leave credits if I take any." A few months later, check your PRSI record on MyWelfare.ie.

Lullagram · lullagram.ie/money
4 of 5

Staying home for longer?

If you leave work to mind a child under 12, the HomeCaring Periods scheme can count up to 20 years of it towards your State pension. You claim it when you reach pension age, so write down your dates now.

Lullagram · lullagram.ie/money
5 of 5

What one year is worth

The full State pension needs 2,080 weeks, about 40 years. At today's top rate of €299.30 a week, each missing year can cost about €7.50 a week for the rest of your life. That's close to €390 a year.

Lullagram · lullagram.ie/money
1 of 5

By Christopher O'Callaghan, QFA, Qualified Financial Advisor. General information, not financial advice. Figures for 2026 from Citizens Information; Budget 2027 adds €10 a week to the State pension from January 2027. Going back to work? Since 1 January 2026, employees aged 23 to 60 earning €20,000 or more with no workplace pension are enrolled in MyFutureFund: for every €3 you put in, your employer adds €3 and the State €1.

Lullagram money minutes

16 money minutes for Irish parents

One minute each, five cards, by Christopher O'Callaghan, QFA.

Pensions for parents

  1. Does maternity leave hurt my pension?
  2. How is my State pension counted?
  3. MyFutureFund: the new pension at work
  4. Parental leave: 26 weeks most parents forget
  5. A gap in your PRSI record? You may be able to fill it

Protecting your family

  1. If one of us died, what would the State pay?
  2. Life cover in plain English
  3. Serious illness or income protection: what's the difference?
  4. Wills and guardians: why parents need both

Everyday family money

  1. A baby budget that works on Child Benefit day
  2. An emergency fund: how much and where
  3. Your mortgage and maternity leave
  4. Borrowing: what APR really means

Saving for your child

  1. Saving versus investing
  2. What inflation and growth do over 18 years
  3. Saving for college or a first home

From Christopher O'Callaghan, QFA, Qualified Financial Advisor. When our son arrived, the money side came at us in pieces: forms, deadlines and letters, all at the worst possible time. This page puts it in one place, in date order, for Irish parents.

It's general information about State payments, from Citizens Information and gov.ie. It isn't financial advice and doesn't know your full circumstances. Lullagram Limited isn't authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland to give financial advice, so for a decision about your own money, talk to a regulated adviser.

Quick answers

What payments do you get for a new baby in Ireland?

With enough PRSI, the birth parent can get Maternity Benefit for 26 weeks and the other parent Paternity Benefit for 2 weeks, at €299 a week in 2026 and €309 from January 2027. Each parent can also get 9 weeks of Parent's Benefit before the child turns 2. Every family gets Child Benefit of €140 a month per child, whatever its income, once the birth is registered.

When should I apply for Maternity Benefit?

On MyWelfare.ie at least 6 weeks before your leave starts, or 12 weeks before if you're self-employed. Leave starts at least 2 weeks before your due date, and you tell your employer in writing at least 4 weeks before it starts. The full guide.

Do the weeks on maternity leave count towards my State pension?

Yes. You're automatically given credited PRSI contributions for each week you get Maternity, Paternity, Adoptive or Parent's Benefit. For the extra unpaid maternity leave, your employer has to apply for the credits when you return, and for parental leave your employer tells the Department of Social Protection.

What is the HomeCaring Periods scheme?

If you leave work to care full time for a child under 12, it can add up to 20 years of caring to your social insurance record when your State Pension (Contributory) is worked out. You apply when you reach pension age, so keep a note of your dates.

Sources. Citizens Information: Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Parent's Benefit, Child Benefit, credited contributions, HomeCaring Periods and MyFutureFund; gov.ie Budget 2027 (6 October 2026). Checked 27 October 2026. Our guides: Parent's Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Child Benefit, crèche fees and the NCS, registering a birth, Budget 2027 for parents.

Every date, on your phone.

Lullagram keeps your pregnancy, your baby and your family's dates in one free app, made in Ireland.

Start free