In the quarter ending June 2022, only 44% of parents due to pay child maintenance via the Collect and Pay service paid more than 90% of the maintenance due. With this in mind, let’s have a look at how child maintenance works and what you can do if you live with your child and the other parent is failing to pay what they owe.
What is Child Maintenance?
Child maintenance helps to cover the cost of providing for a child when one of their parents does not live with them. The child in question must be under age 16, or under age 20 if they are in approved education or training. It is a financial arrangement between both parents which they can choose to make themselves or through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
Private Arrangements vs Child Maintenance Service
You can sort out a private arrangement for payments with the other parent yourself. However, if you do so, you must remember that this is not a legally binding agreement. Therefore, no one can collect missed payments if your child’s other parent fails to pay what you agreed upon.
Alternatively, you can opt to go through the CMS. They will work out your child maintenance amount and you can either choose to arrange payments with the other parent yourself (Direct Pay) or use the CMS to collect and pass on these payments (Collect and Pay).
To find out how they calculate the child maintenance amount, click here. To get a reference number in order to apply to the CMS, click here.
The above graph highlights how common missed payments are within child maintenance agreements, with only 64% of Paying Parents under Collect and Pay actually paying something towards their maintenance. So, let’s have a look at what you can do when your child’s other parent fails to make payments in full and on time.
Missed Payments under a Private Arrangement
If you have a private arrangement and the Paying Parent is failing to pay the amount due on time, you can ask the CMS to begin collecting child maintenance instead. However, the CMS cannot make the parent pay any arrears (missed payments) already owed.
Alternatively, you can choose to get the payment order enforced by the court. You can contact Citizens Advice for help on how to do this.
Missed Payments under the CMS
The CMS can take certain steps to recover missed payments if the Paying Parent fails to pay child maintenance on time, underpays, or misses payments entirely. If you use a system of Collect and Pay to collect child maintenance payments, the CMS:
- Can send an arrears notice to the Paying Parent. Caseworkers may then go through negotiations and establish a repayment plan to collect what is owed
- “aims to recover arrears within 2 years and expects the Paying Parent to pay up to 40% of their net income to clear them”
- May accept a partial payment of what is owed in return for “satisfaction of liability for the whole arrears” if the Person with Care (who lives with the child) gives written consent to do so
If you use a system of Direct Pay, the CMS does not monitor payments. However, if the Paying Parent fails to make payments in full and on time, you should inform CMS who can then make the case Collect and Pay to enforce payment and recover arrears.
How the CMS Collects these Missed Payments
The CMS can recover arrears in a variety of ways.
- A Deduction from Earnings Order… where the Paying Parent has payments deducted from their salary
- A Deduction from Earnings Request… which works the same as the above, but is for those in the Armed Forces
- A Deduction Order… where money is taken from the Paying Parent’s bank account, either in a lump sum or through regular deductions
- Collection of Assets… taken from a Paying Parent’s estate if they have died