TRIPS to the park, play dates and cosy coffee mornings are how many imagine the life of a stay-at-home mum.
That’s not the case for Paige Empty who — a year after having triplet girls — says she wants to be back at work, and admits: “It frustrates me that the help isn’t there so I can work part-time.
“But the more I earn, the fewer top-up benefits I get and it becomes not worth it.”
Until recently, hard-working graduate Paige enjoyed a pricey gym membership, regular takeaways and £3,000 all-inclusive holidays to Jamaica.
Now, after falling pregnant with triplets — a situation she hadn’t planned for — Paige now finds herself an unemployed mum living in a council flat and spending £1,200 a year on nappies.
And while Paige is grateful that her annual benefits total £25,323, she insists she would much rather be working and paying into the system. But the more she earns, the worse off she is.
Paige, who gave birth to Skye, Nova and Aria last December, says she never expected or wanted to be on benefits, adding: “I’ve worked so hard to better myself, going to university to get a law degree and doing my masters part-time while working.
“People who think benefits are the easy way out are so wrong. Why would you choose to be trapped in a tiny council flat, just surviving month to month?
“I knew babies were expensive, but having three at once is crippling.
“I love the girls so much and wouldn’t change a thing, but mums of multiples are under so much financial pressure.”
After being told her pregnancy was high-risk, Paige, of Lewisham, South East London — who is dating the girls’ dad, Reuel Hackman, 29, a conveyancer — was signed off from work for nearly three months due to complications.
Then came the inevitably high costs of raising her children. “A triple buggy costs £2,000 in the UK,” she says.
“So we had to get one from America for £500.
“Luckily, we were given a lot of hand-me-downs, like clothes and toys, and got two of the three cots from Twins Trust, through its Family Crisis Support Service.
“But I go through a pack of 24 nappies per day which, along with wipes, costs me £100 a month — £1,200 a year.
“The girls all have a cow’s milk allergy so need a specialist formula — which I get on prescription, otherwise I’d be looking at around £250 a month, or £3,000 a year.
One-bedroom flat
“I’d naively assumed I’d be able to go back to work after maternity leave, but I’ve had to take a break from my training and reluctantly go on to benefits.
“The childcare for three babies would cost more than my take-home pay of £1,800 a month, even after the free hours from the Government and Universal Credit help.”
Paige estimates that, despite the latest extension of the scheme offering working parents 30 free hours of childcare, going back to work full time would still leave her paying £1,132 in top-ups per child each month — more than £40,000 a year.
Because her trainee solicitor salary is only £26,250 before tax, and Reuel earns similar, she could claim child benefit of £60.55 per week — £3,148.60 a year — and Universal Credit help for childcare of up to £21,216 a year. But on benefits, she can claim up to the £25,323 cap, untaxed, as she lives in London.
The lifting of the two-child benefit cap next April won’t affect Paige, as parents of three or more babies born at once already receive additional Universal Credit.
Under rules announced last month, in 2029-30, some 560,000 families will see an increase in Universal Credit averaging £5,310 per year.
The Government says this will pull 450,000 children out of poverty. But Paige says: “It’s hard because I really want to give my girls the best start in life.”
Much as she loves being a mum, Paige does not see her set-up as a long-term plan and would rather be working than scratching a living on benefits.
She says: “It’s not a glamorous life, I have to make sacrifices. I can’t even afford a new bra and am stuck in nursing ones.”
Paige had been living in a one-bedroom, first-floor council flat for five years and the housing department would not let her apply for larger, more suitable accommodation until the girls were born.
She did so immediately, but was trapped in her tiny flat for almost a year, despite letters from her doctors and a health visitor supporting her application.
Paige is keen to disabuse anyone of the idea that a life on benefits is glamorous. While 1.4million households in England are on the social housing waiting list, Paige says people should be realistic about what that housing will be.
She says she is grateful for her council flat, but that it’s certainly not what she would choose for her growing family were she able to work.
Two weeks ago, Paige and the babies were finally moved into a two-bedroom flat as a temporary measure. But while it is bigger, it is impractical as it’s on the fourth floor. Due to space constraints, Reuel still lives part-time at his grandmother’s house.
Paige says: “I can’t even pop out for a bit of fresh air with the triplets, as the buggy won’t fit in the lift. Reuel works full time, so my mum Michelle helps where she can, but she has my brother Tyler, ten, to look after.”
Paige considered renting privately, but could not afford it.
She says: “It would be a minimum of £1,700 a month for two bedrooms and I currently pay £740, plus I’d struggle to pass the affordability checks.
Fertility problems
“And I can’t move further out to somewhere cheaper as I need to be near family for support.”
Raising multiples is often expensive. A Twins Trust report found parents face a hit of at least £20,000 in the first year after birth, compared with having two babies in succession.
And there is a 15 per cent decline in household income — around £12,500 in the first year — while most have to buy a new car to accommodate their kids.
The Twins Trust says parents of multiples face higher costs, and the charity has previously called for changes such as maternity pay per baby.
Paige — whose pregnancy came as a shock due to suspected fertility problems — gave birth to her girls at 33 weeks and six days by Caesarean section at Lewisham Hospital. For now, she remains reliant on benefits to support her family.
She says: “It is so hard physically, mentally and financially.
“I never wanted to be a stay-at-home mum, I wanted to become a lawyer. But my girls come first and this is the best solution for us right now.”
