State pension error means parents could be owed thousands
The post says: "If you cared for a child or someone with a long-term disability between 1978 and 2010, you could wrongly have National Insurance gaps that reduce your State Pension. 100,000s could be affected, and while the Govt was contacting people, it isn't any longer - as highlighted by former Pensions Minister Steve Webb. Thus the onus is on you to proactively check. The impact can be huge."
State Pension error! Did you take time off work (1978 to 2010) to look after children or someone with long term disability? You could be owed £10,000s
Full help to check in... https://t.co/P4wepwqEKb
In brief: 100,000s wrongly have Nat Insurance gaps that reduce your State…
Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was given for full tax years (6 April to 5 April) between 1978 and 2010, if any of the following were true:
National Insurance credits for parents and carers replaced HRP from 6 April 2010.
Most people got HRP automatically if they were:
If your partner claimed Child Benefit instead of you, you may be able to transfer HRP from a partner you lived with if they claimed Child Benefit while you both cared for a child under 16 and they do not need the HRP.
If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2008, you cannot transfer HRP.
If you became a parent before May 2000, you may have Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) missing from your National Insurance record. This could mean you're missing out on State Pension payments.
Check if you can apply for HRP below. ⬇️https://t.co/xAqMfpngPe pic.twitter.com/JxNmBXDaqd
If you spent at least 35 hours a week caring for someone with a long-term illness or disability between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2002, you may also be able to claim.
They must have been getting one of the following benefits:
The benefit must have been paid for 48 weeks of each tax year on or after 6 April 1988 or every week of each tax year before 6 April 1988.
You do not need to apply for HRP if you were getting Carer's Allowance. You'll automatically get National Insurance credits and would not usually have needed HRP, but check - just to be sure.
In a post on X, HMRC said: "If you became a parent before May 2000, you may have Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) missing from your National Insurance record. This could mean you're missing out on State Pension payments."
For someone with 13 missing years, who lives for another 20 years, it can be worth as much as £100,000 or more in State Pension payments.
Recommended reading:
You can also apply if, for a full tax year between 2003 and 2010, you were either:
All of the following must also be true:
You cannot get HRP for any complete tax year if you were a married woman or a widow and had chosen to pay reduced rate Class 1 National Insurance contributions as an employee (commonly known as the small stamp), or you had chosen not to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions when self-employed
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
How you can claim up to £20K a year to help with kids during summer holidays
Do you know the Government will pay £2 for every £8 you spend on childcare HOLIDAY HELP How you can claim up to £20K a year to help with kids during summer holidays HAVING kids is expensive – and the financial pain only gets harder in the summer holidays. Summer clubs cost an average £1,075 for the six-week break, according to Coram's Holiday Childcare Report, so it's vital you claim all available support. Anna Stevenson, benefits specialist at Turn2Us, says: 'There are a lot of schemes to navigate and often people don't know where to start, but there is help there when you know where to look.' Mel Hunter considers what help you can apply for — and it's worth up to £20,247 a year. FREE CHILDCARE PLACES - up to £7,500 a year ALL families in England are entitled to 15 hours' free childcare a week for three and four-year-olds. Working families can also access some free childcare hours from when their children are nine months old. From September, eligible parents will be able to get 30 hours' free childcare a week from nine months until school age — but you need to apply by August 31. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have alternative schemes, so it's worth checking what applies for you. HOLIDAY ACTIVITY FUND - £720 THE Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme gives children from lower income families access to holiday activities, including a free meal. It is mainly for primary school children who receive free school meals. Three key benefits that YOU could be missing out on, and one even gives you a free TV Licence However, some councils keep places for other children considered in need. Anna says: 'Schemes like this, which are administered by the local authority, can go under the radar.' TAX-FREE CHILDCARE - up to £4,000 a year THE Government will pay £2 for every £8 you spend on childcare, capped at £2,000 per year per child (or £4,000 for a child with a disability). But around 825,000 of the 1.3million families who are eligible do not claim it. Anna says: 'People don't always realise that they can get help covering the cost of childcare once their kids are out of nursery, when they may be using after-school or holiday clubs.' CHILD BENEFIT - £1,355 a year THIS is paid to anyone with a child under 16, or under 20 if they are still in education. It is worth £1,354.60 per year for a family with one child and £2,251.60 per year for a family with two. It seems a no-brainer, but around £1.6billion in child benefit goes unclaimed each year. With child benefit, there is no cap so you can claim for as many children as you have. The level at which you are entitled to the full amount changed last year. Now you can get it if no one in your household earns more than £60,000, up from £50,000. If you earn between £60,000 and £80,000, you are entitled to some of it. If you earn more than £80,000, you are not entitled to any. It is still worth filling in the claim form, even if you do not want to get payments, to get National Insurance credits which count towards the state pension. UNIVERSAL CREDIT - £5,772 a year UNIVERSAL credit is the main benefit that can be claimed by families on a lower income, but the 1.4million households that don't claim could be missing out on an average of £5,772. You cannot get universal credit if you or a partner you live with have more than £16,000 in savings. But you may still be able to get it if you work. Mandy Jackson, a rights adviser with the charity Working Families, says: 'Anyone with a child should check if they are eligible.' SURE START MATERNITY GRANT - £500 THIS is a one-off payment of £500 to help with the costs of having a newborn in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can apply if you have no other children under 16 and you or your partner get certain benefits. If you live in Scotland, you can apply for a Best Start grant, worth up to £767.50. Designed to support families with young kids, it comes in three payments. FREE BREAKFAST CLUBS - up to £450 a year FREE breakfast clubs are being rolled out in primary schools across England. These give kids an extra 30-minute session before school where they get a free breakfast. If you are eligible for these you may be able to get help from your local authority during the summer holidays. Check to find out. My nursery costs are cut by £1,440 3 Sam Kennedy Christian is a coach who helps parents juggle work and childcare Credit: Suppleid MUM-of-two Sam Kennedy Christian is a coach who helps parents juggle work and childcare. Sam, 39, uses the tax-free childcare scheme and finds it very helpful. She explains: 'I started using it when [my daughter] Rose, who's now seven, started at nursery – and over the years it has saved us a fortune.' Currently, it cuts nursery fees for her son James, two, to £480 a month instead of £600 – saving £1,440 a year. The family has been getting 15 hours' free childcare for James each week, but that will rise to 30 hours in September. That will cut their bill by a further £240 a month. Sam, from Herne Bay, Kent, says: 'It's a lot to get your head around, but it's so worth it.' It can also be a godsend for clubs in the school holidays for Rose, Sam adds. With the average cost around £30 a day where Sam lives, she ends up paying £24 herself, with the rest covered by the govern-ment payment. Sam says: 'Saving £6 a day is very helpful. Over the summer, it will save us £60.' PENSIONS ARE TAX TARGET 3 Pensions will become subject to Inheritance Tax from April 6, 2027 Credit: Getty GRIEVING families will soon find the process of sorting out a loved one's finances much harder following a huge change to Inheritance Tax. The government has confirmed that pensions will become subject to Inheritance Tax from April 6, 2027. Currently, money left in your pension after you pass away can be passed on to a loved one without any need for them to pay Inheritance Tax. The Inheritance Tax rate is 40 per cent, and is charged on the estate – the property, possessions and money, of someone who has died – if it is worth more than £325,000. A loophole means many wealthy pensioners are using pensions as a way to pass down most of their money because they are so tax-efficient. The changes mean that this loophole will close – but experts have warned that it will pile pressure on grieving families. Inheritance Tax needs to be paid within six months, and usually before you can apply for probate. But tracking down pensions takes time, delaying the process of applying for probate. Probate is the legal process of dealing with a person's death, and it can take months to get it granted. Former pensions minister Steve Webb said: 'Life is tough enough when you have just lost a loved one without having extra layers of bureaucracy on top. 'It is hard to see how these changes will be good news for bereaved families.' ADELE COOKE STARLING ACCOUNT UPSET 3 Starling bank will no longer let its users open a second current account Credit: Reuters ONLINE bank Starling has shaken up its current accounts, causing a big stir among customers who are desperate for the change to be reversed. The bank, which has more than 4.6million UK customers, will no longer let its users open a second current account. Starling previously let customers open an extra everyday bank account, free of charge. Savers raved about the perk because it was a great way for them to manage their money. But the digital bank has told The Sun it has temporarily stopped allowing customers to open additional accounts while it 'improves our account offering'. It quietly suspended additional accounts last year, and clients have been calling on the bank to bring back the feature. One customer posted to X this week: '@StarlingBank when will additional accounts be back? I had one and would like to enable it again.' Another posted in January asking: 'Can I create a second personal account in @StarlingBank?' One customer said on Reddit: 'I'm sure it used to be a thing when I first started with Starling, but now I get 'you've reached your personal account limit' with one account, and 'you're not currently able to apply for this account' when I go to open a Personal Additional.' Starling said: 'Customers are still able to apply for a joint account, provided both are Starling customers. 'Joint accounts are limited to one per customer.' BLATHNAID CORLESS
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Parents could get £200 boost before the kids go back to school - here's how
The additional funds are there to help cover costs Parents in the UK could be entitled to an additional £200 before the children go back to school. This non-repayable cash is designated to help pay for school uniforms. However, it is only available to certain families on low income living in specific areas. In the majority of cases you will qualify if your child is eligible for free school meals. Consumer finance website Money Saving Expert (MSE), founded by Martin Lewis, explained more about who can get the grant. MSE said: 'Generally, the minimum UK-wide requirement to get a school uniform grant is to qualify for means-tested free school meals - even if you don't actually get them. Typically, to get means-tested free school meals, you need to be getting a specified benefit.' These include: Universal Credit (you're eligible after you've got your first payment) Child Tax Credit The 'guaranteed element' of Pension Credit Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance Income-related Employment and Support Allowance Income Support Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 However, the exact criteria for free school meals varies slightly around the UK. For more information on how to apply in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, visit the MSE website here. It's also important to note that local authorities can set their own school uniform grant eligibility criteria, and some councils include additional requirements. 'For example, in some cases your child has to be in a specific year group or moving from primary to secondary school to qualify,' MSE said. In England, the amount you can get will depend on your local council. Visit the MSE website here for a breakdown of which local authorities offer what. MSE said: 'In England, whether you can get a school uniform grant is a postcode lottery as it's down to your local council to decide whether to offer one, how much you get and the eligibility criteria.' Currently, only 22 out of 150 councils in England offer this grant. A further seven do offer financial support for uniforms but only in exceptional circumstances, for example, where you've suffered a fire, flood or have been made homeless. MSE said: 'If your council isn't listed above, ask if it has other help available. Under the Household Support Fund, councils in England can access funding to help those most in need with the cost of daily essentials, including school clothing in some cases. 'Each council can choose how to distribute the money, so eligibility criteria and what you can get varies – for example, some have given extra funding to schools to hand out, while others provide direct help to vulnerable households in the form of supermarket vouchers. 'The scheme is set to run until April 2026. After this, councils will continue to receive funding for a new 'Crisis and Resilience Fund', a long-term scheme which will aim to protect families from crisis. However, it's not clear yet how specific individual councils will use this funding. 'It's worth contacting your council to find out what it offers. If you can't access financial support under the Household Support Fund, your council may have other schemes in place that could help you.' Grants in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland School uniform grants are offered by all local authorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. Here's a rough guide: The amount you get varies by council, but it'll be at least £120 The deadline to apply varies by council See for the link to your council's application form Wales: Northern Ireland: You can get up to £93.60 per child However, the deadline to apply was 25 July 2025
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Full list of DWP benefit errors that can lead to refunds worth £1,000s – including PIP and state pension
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HOUSEHOLDS should stay alert to benefit errors that could result in refunds worth thousands of pounds. If the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) underpays you, you may be entitled to claim back the money you are owed. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 We share what benefit errors could lead you tor receive money back Credit: EPA On the other hand, if you are overpaid on a benefit, you will be required to repay the money, and failing to do so could lead to legal action. This applies even if you were unaware of the overpayment and have already spent the funds. However, claimants may be eligible for back payments on several benefits, including the state pension and personal independence payments (PIP). Below, we outline who has been affected and how this might apply to you. State pension error If you took time away from paid work to look after a child or someone with an illness, you could be owed money back. The issue mainly impacts those carrying out caring duties between 1978 and 2010. During this time, the government had a system in place to ensure people would still be paid the state pension if they took time out for these reasons. This system was called Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and it should have been automatically awarded to those claiming Child Benefit. But an error in the system found that hundreds of thousands of people were left with gaps in their National Insurance records that should not be there. Those impacted have been underpaid on their state pension or could be in the future. But the government has said that all issues related to the error should be resolved by March 2027. Disability benefit explained - what you can claim How to claim You might have received a letter if you are thought to be affected. People can check their eligibility for backdated HRP and make a claim via HMRC said the process takes around 15 minutes. According to MoneySavingExpert, the average amount being paid out is more than £7,000. What are state pension errors? STEVE Webb, partner at LCP and former Pensions Minister, explains what state pension errors are and how they can occur: The way state pensions are worked out is so complicated that many thousands of people have been paid the wrong amount for years without even realising it. The amount of retirement pension you get usually depends on your National Insurance (NI) record. One big source of errors has been cases where NI records have been incorrect, particularly for years spent at home with children. This is a system known as 'Home Responsibilities Protection'. Alternatively, particularly for older pensioners, the amount you get can depend on the NI contributions made by your spouse. Errors have arisen where the Government has failed to adjust the pensions of married women when their husbands retired or failed to increase pensions when someone was bereaved and lost a husband or wife. Although the Government has spent years trying to fix these problems, there are still many thousands of people – many of them older women – on the wrong pension. If you have always thought that your pension seems low, then it is worth contacting the Pensions Service to ask them to check, especially if you spent time at home raising children or if you were widowed and your pension didn't change when your spouse died PIP Benefit claimants could be owed cash from the government after a PIP payment error. A review was launched following a Supreme Court judgment in July 2019 that changed the way the DWP defines 'social support' in one of the assessed PIP categories. Dubbed the "MM judgement", the DWP realised that hundreds of thousands could now be due additional support. It means that people may not have been given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it. Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have received the enhanced rate, which is a higher amount. It occurred after some people were given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it. The DWP launched a review in 2021, looking at cases since 2016. How to claim An estimated 633,338 households are thought to be have been affected by the error. The average payout works out at around £5,285 per claim, but you could get more or less. One couple told The Sun they were left shell-shocked" after learning that they were due £12,000 in back payments. The DWP tends to get in contact directly with claimants thought to be impacted. New PIP error The DWP has flagged two more errors relating to the benefits claim. That includes PIP claimants without a National Insurance number not having their claims processed correctly, even though it is not needed to make a claim. Up to £500,000 has been paid out to those impacted. Elsewhere, The DWP has also paid out £13million to Scottish PIP claimants who mistakenly saw a "loss of entitlement" when they tried moving over to the Adult Disability Payment (ADP).
