Huge jump in rejections for vital benefit worth £340 a year that unlocks full state pension payments – how to avoid it

The Sun

a day ago

HUNDREDS of people could be missing out getting their full state pension in retirement because they're not receiving a vital benefit.
New figures obtained by wealth management company Quilter have revealed the number of Carer's Credit claims being rejected has risen to the highest level in over a decade.
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The benefit can be claimed by people who have taken time out of work to care for someone else.
The benefit doesn't pay you any money directly but it's a National Insurance credit that makes sure you can still get the full state pension while you're not working.
You usually need 35 years of National Insurance contributions to get the full state pension, which currently sits at £11,973 per year.
If you only have 10 qualifying years, for example, you would get just £3,420.86 a year.
That means you would lose out on £342 for every year that you're not making National Insurance contributions.
If you claim Carer's Credit, it fills in the gaps in your National Insurance record to help you get the full amount.
The latest figures, which come from a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), show the number of rejected Carer's Credit claims rose to 990 in 2024/25.
A total of 6,773 claims were submitted over the year.
This means nearly 15% of claims were rejected.
It's also a sharp increase on the 164 claims that were rejected out of the total 7,105 claims made in 2023/24.
In 2022/23, a total of 4,209 claims were made with only 67 rejected.
The DWP said the most common reasons for refusal were missing qualifying benefit links or missing health or social care certificates.
Other factors included being over the state pension age, applying late, not living in the UK, or submitting duplicate or future-dated claims.
Almost 5.7million people in the UK provide unpaid care, including 1.7million people who deliver 50 hours or more of care per week.
The DWP said it didn't hold any data on how many carers may be entitled to but not applying for Carer's Credit.
But it appears a large number of people could be eligible.
Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter, said: "The rise in disallowed claims is a clear warning sign that many people are still unaware of the criteria or are being tripped up by administrative complexities...
"Too many carers are missing out either because they don't know the credit exists or because they face hurdles in proving eligibility.
"With millions of unpaid carers across the UK, it feels like this is a potentially largely underutilised benefit for carers and we should be doing much more to ensure that their future retirement income is not being quietly eroded."
Are you eligible for Carer's Credit?
To claim you'll need to be aged 16 or over but under the state pension age, which is currently 66.
You could claim the benefit if you're in one of these situations:
You care for one or more people for 20 hours or more a week but miss out on Carer's Allowance because you don't care for any one of them for 35 hours or more a week
Where there is more than one of you caring for someone, and someone else is getting the Carer's Allowance for that person
You care for someone who can't or refuses to claim disability benefits, or if the disability benefits of the person you are caring for have stopped due to them being in hospital or residential care
You are within 12 weeks of claiming Carer's Allowance and/or within 12 weeks of your claim for Carer's Allowance stopping.
The person you're looking after must normally be getting one of the following:
The middle or the higher rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
The daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (at either rate)
Attendance Allowance (at either rate) or Constant Attendance Allowance
Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)
You may still be able to claim Carer's Credit even if the person you're caring for doesn't get one of these benefits.
When you apply, you should fill in the Care Certificate part of the application form and ask a healthcare professional to sign it.
You don't need to apply for Carer's Credit if you get Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment because you'll automatically get credits.
You'll also automatically get credits if you claim Child Benefit for a child under the age of 12.
If you're a foster carer, you can apply for National Insurance credits instead.
How can you claim?
You can download a claim form online through the Government website here.
You can also get the form by calling the Carer's Allowance Unit.
The phone number is 0800 731 0297.
You should then send off the form to Freepost DWP Carers Allowance Unit.
Do not write anything except the freepost address on the envelope. You do not need a postcode or a stamp.
Can you challenge the decision if your claim is rejected?
If your claim is rejected you can still challenge the decision.
This is called mandatory reconsideration and it's free to ask for.
You can ask for mandatory reconsideration if any of the following apply:
You think the office dealing with your claim has made an error or missed important evidence
You disagree with the reasons for the decision
You want to have the decision looked at again.
You should contact the DWP if you disagree with the decision.
You will need to ask for mandatory reconsideration within one month of the date of your decision letter.
You'll need to give the date of your original benefit decision, your name and address, your date of birth and your National Insurance number.
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