HMRC is urging tens of thousands of people to check if they are eligible to boost their State Pension.
Some parents who claimed Child benefit before 2000 are missing out on State Pension payments they are entitled to because of gaps in their National Insurance records.
HMRC is urging those affected, who are mainly women at, or approaching, State Pension age, to check for gaps in their National Insurance record and top up their State Pension for free.
Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was applied to the National Insurance (NI) records of those who claimed Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000, to protect their State Pension. It reduced the number of qualifying years a person with caring responsibilities needed to receive the full basic State Pension. It was replaced by National Insurance credits in 2010.
However, if someone claimed Child Benefit before May 2000 and did not provide their NI number on their claim, HRP may not have been applied and their State Pension entitlement could have been affected.
If people are missing HRP from their NI record, it doesn’t automatically mean their State Pension calculation is incorrect, but it does increase the possibility, particularly if they spent a number of years away from work to raise a family.
HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are working to identify those people affected and encourage them to make a claim for HRP so their records can be amended.
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