Parents can claim back £10,000s if they took time off to raise kids in certain time frame – are you eligible?

The Sun

23-07-2025

PARENTS and carers could be missing out on tens of thousands of pounds due to a Government error.
More than 100,000 people are thought to have incorrect gaps in their National Insurance records, reducing their state pension pots.
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The issue has impacted some people who cared for a child or someone with a long-term disability between 1978 and 2010.
At the time, the Government had a system in place to make sure people would still get the state pension if they were taking time off work to look after a child or a loved one.
The system was called Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and it should have been automatically awarded to those claiming Child Benefit.
But there were errors in the system and it meant hundreds of thousands of people were left with gaps in their National Insurance records that shouldn't be there.
Those affected are being underpaid the state pension, or could be in future.
The HRP error was first discovered in September 2022 and published in the DWP's annual report.
The Government department said the error was the "second largest" it had found relating to state pensions.
Earlier this year, the Government confirmed all cases relating to the issue would be resolved by March 2027.
It said people had up to two years from March 2025 to provide any additional information so they could claim back the money.
The DWP and HMRC have already identified about 119,000 cases of - largely women - who were underpaid due to the error.
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Between them they have received £735million.
But it's thought there are still thousands of eligible people who are yet to respond to letters sent by the Government telling them they could be owed money.
It is understood this is due to the Government requiring further documentation from them.
What is Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP)?
BELOW we reveal what Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) is and why if you received it before 2000 you could be missing out on cash.
From 1978 to 2010, protection was provided for parents to avoid gaps in their "qualifying years" by a system known as Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) credits.
This system was then replaced in 2010 by the one we have now, called National Insurance Credits.
Most people got HRP automatically if they were getting child benefit in their name for a child under the age of 16 and they had given the child benefit office their National Insurance (NI) number.
If someone claimed child benefit before May 2000 and did not provide their NI number on the form, it's possible that their credits may not have been transferred to their NI account from the child benefit computer.
This may affect their pension entitlement and women who are now in their 60s and 70s are most likely to be affected.
If you think you may be entitled, but you have questions, the Pension Service can be reached using the Gov.UK website or by calling 0800 731 0469.
Could you be affected?
It might be worth checking to see if you're affected if the following apply to you:
You're currently aged between 41 and 90
You took time away from paid work to look after a child or a person with a long-term disability or illness at any point between 1978 and 2010
You claimed Child Benefit or Income Support for the first time between May 2000
OR
Your partner claimed Child Benefit but you stayed at home to look after a child or person with a long-term health condition at any point between 1978 and 2010
OR
You didn't include your National Insurance number on your claim.
How can you check?
If you're not sure whether you're being paid the right amount in your state pension, you can try these checks.
First look at your state pension forecast or statement on the gov.uk website.
Another option is to call the Future Pension Centre, who can post you a copy of your forecast.
Make sure you have your National Insurance number to hand when you call.
If you're not getting the full state pension, or your forecast says you're not on track to get it, you should then check your National Insurance record for gaps.
You can do this online on the gov.uk website or call up the National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500.
If there are gaps in your record between 1978 and 2010, and these were years you took off work to care for a child, you may be missing Home Responsibilities Protection.
What should you do next?
You may have already received a letter if you're likely to have been affected.
But HMRC has said many people didn't act on the letter - perhaps because they thought it was a scam or didn't need to take action.
If you think you're eligible for HRP you can still claim without the letter.
You can make a claim on the Government website here.
The process takes about 15 minutes.
You can also claim by post by filling in a CF411 form which can be downloaded off the link above or call the HMRC helpline on 0300 200 3500.