Child Benefit claimants could be missing out on full state pension entitlement
If you claimed Child Benefit prior to May 2000 you may have missed out on valuable qualifying state pension years due to nuances in HMRC’s systems. How can you correct your NI record?
Entitlement to certain benefits can preserve your entitlement to the state pension, as since 2010, NI credits are automatically awarded to provide qualifying years on your NI record. Before 2010 this was known as home responsibilities protection (HRP). However, Child Benefit claimants who did not include their NI number on the application form before May 2000 may not have had their NI record credited with HRP. This means that there are potentially tens of thousands of people receiving a lower state pension than they should be. HMRC is therefore working with the DWP and urging individuals who may be affected to check whether they can make a claim to update their NI record.
Related Topics
-
Getting out of the child benefit tax trap
You expect to earn over £60,000 for this tax year which means you may have to pay back some or all of your family’s child benefit due to the high income child benefit charge (HICBC). Is it possible to reduce the charge?
-
HMRC targets “dodgy shops” in new compliance crackdown
The government has announced a new crackdown on businesses suspected of facilitating tax evasion, with HMRC increasing its focus on so-called "dodgy shops" used to enable tax fraud. What is HMRC targeting?
-
Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind delayed
The government has revised plans to introduce the mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind from 6 April 2027, which will now be limited to company cars, vans, fuel and medical benefits. What's the full story?