Parents who took time off work to look after kids 'could be owed thousands'
Martin Lewis has shared that if you're a parent who took time off to look after your children between certain dates you could be owed "thousands". He revealed "the decades-old error that could mean you're owed" the money, explaining what happened on ITV's This Morning. Some have hailed Martin Lewis a "saint" for sharing this information far and wide.
The money expert explained that this information "primarily impacts women," but he did say it wasn't "solely women," but whoever is impacted will be between "the ages of 41 and 90". He did say, however, that "most generally they'll be in their 60s and 70s, but it could be of any age".
He said: "It's those who took time away from paid work to look after their child or look after someone with a long-term disability or illness between 1978 and 2010.
"But they also needed to have been claiming child benefit before May 2000, which is why we tend to be talking women in their 60s and 70s because they fit that age profile.
"Or your partner could've claimed child benefit but you were then the one staying at home".
Martin then went on to explain that there was a "thing called Home Responsibilities Protection," and he said: "What this did is, if you stopped working to look after your child or someone who was sick, it gave you the National Insurance contributions that you would've otherwise got from working.
"And National Insurance Contributions are what's needed for you to get the full state pension. So there could be many women who are not getting the full state pension, because they should've got Home Responsibilities Protection, and they didn't get it because of an error".
He continued: "So, this is what you need to do. If all of those things ring true - you took time off between 1978 and 2010, you claimed child benefit before 2000, you need to go onto gov.uk. You need to check your state pension forecast.
"If you're not forecast to get a full state pension when you hit retirement age, then you need to go and look have you got any missing National Insurance years.
"If those years are missing at the same time that you were off work to pay for the childcare or for the long-term, then you were probably due Home Responsibilities Protection and you need to go and check that".
Martin then said that he was going to be "really honest," saying it's a "bit too complicated to do on the telly," referring to it as a "clarion call".
"If that all rings a bell, go and look it up," he urged.
In the comments, someone wrote: "What about if your national insurance contributions are missing after those dates - because you chose to not work so that you could look after your children?"
Another replied: "Then there will be a shortfall in your pension, one would presume".
Others said they found it "impossible" to fill in the form as they wanted precise dates when they were off work.
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