Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Money, investing, mutuals etc
expressman33
Posts: 12468
Joined: Tue Jun 29 2010 10:36pm
Location: stockport
Has thanked: 3006 times
Been thanked: 10641 times
Contact:

Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by expressman33 » Mon Oct 07 2019 2:20pm

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/ ... rotect-it/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... its-ca9176

Thousands of grandparents who have given up work to help look after their grandchildren could be missing out on a state pension boost worth £1,000s over the course of their retirement, new research has revealed. But you can act now to protect your pension.

The Government scheme – technically known as 'specified adult childcare credits' , is designed to protect the pensions of grandparents who retire early to help care for grandchildren so their parents can go back to work.

A parent (usually the mother, though it can be the father) who gets child benefit for a child under 12 automatically gets NI credits towards their state pension. But a mum who goes back to work and pays NI doesn't need the credit because she gets a qualifying year anyway.

Under the scheme, a mum can sign a form and pass the NI credit to the grandparent who is actually looking after the child. This means the grandparent benefits from the NI credit and it goes towards their state pension instead.

Why do NI credits matter?

If you retired before April 2016, you need 30 qualifying working years to get the full state pension. If you retired or will retire after April 2016, that's raised to 35 years. (See our State Pensions guide to find out more about qualifying NI years.)

If you're looking after grandchildren, and you need extra qualifying years, it's worth getting recognition for the childcare you provide. But you need to claim the extra NI credits – they won't automatically be added to your NI record.

So who's eligible to claim these NI credits?

You can apply for specified adult childcare credits if:

You're a grandparent, or other family member, caring for a child under 12.
You're under state pension age.
You live in the UK (and not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man).
The child's parent (or main carer) is entitled to child benefit and has a qualifying NI year meaning he or she doesn't need the NI credit you receive automatically with child benefit.
The child's parent (or main carer) agrees to your application.
For grandparents to be eligible for the NI credits, working parents need to give up the NI credits they receive when they claim child benefit and transfer them to the grandparent doing the caring.

Your application will be rejected if:

You already have a qualifying year of national insurance – usually because you work or receive other NI credits.
You're receiving child benefit for the child – in that case, you'll already get the parent's NI credits automatically.
The number of hours a grandparent helps out with childcare is irrelevant to the claim. So even if it's just one day a week, eligible grandparents should be able to claim.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... its-ca9176
Thanked by: blythburgh, emsky, adamred6

planteria
Posts: 6360
Joined: Tue Nov 23 2010 4:52pm
Location: England
Has thanked: 701 times
Been thanked: 1670 times
Contact:

Re: Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by planteria » Mon Oct 07 2019 10:05pm

expressman33 wrote:
Mon Oct 07 2019 2:20pm
A parent (usually the mother, though it can be the father) who gets child benefit for a child under 12 automatically gets NI credits towards their state pension.
is that right, for the full 12 years if she/he continues not to 'work outside the home'?
and if there were, say, 3 children, and she/he therefore had an under 12 for 17 years, would she/he receive 17 years of NI credits?
it's never really occurred to me before, but i ought to know :thumbup:.
Thanked by: blythburgh, emsky, adamred6

BeautifulSunshine
Posts: 26721
Joined: Tue Sep 14 2010 8:23pm
Location: [The Finest City in the World: London]
Has thanked: 192 times
Been thanked: 3686 times
Contact:

Re: Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by BeautifulSunshine » Tue Oct 08 2019 4:24am

Good to know.
[imutual Cashback Investment Club]

expressman33
Posts: 12468
Joined: Tue Jun 29 2010 10:36pm
Location: stockport
Has thanked: 3006 times
Been thanked: 10641 times
Contact:

Re: Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by expressman33 » Tue Oct 08 2019 10:16am

planteria wrote:
Mon Oct 07 2019 10:05pm
expressman33 wrote:
Mon Oct 07 2019 2:20pm
A parent (usually the mother, though it can be the father) who gets child benefit for a child under 12 automatically gets NI credits towards their state pension.
is that right, for the full 12 years if she/he continues not to 'work outside the home'?
and if there were, say, 3 children, and she/he therefore had an under 12 for 17 years, would she/he receive 17 years of NI credits?
it's never really occurred to me before, but i ought to know :thumbup:.
yes https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/what-youll-get
If your child is under 12 and you’re not working or do not earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions, Child Benefit can give you National Insurance credits.

These credits count towards your State Pension, so you do not have gaps in your National Insurance record.
This used to be for a child up to the age of 16 , or 18 if the child was still in education

planteria
Posts: 6360
Joined: Tue Nov 23 2010 4:52pm
Location: England
Has thanked: 701 times
Been thanked: 1670 times
Contact:

Re: Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by planteria » Tue Oct 08 2019 4:08pm

thank you exp.. do you happen to know if this is automatic, or if a person has to claim for these credits?
Thanked by: adamred6, emsky

pabenny
Posts: 2732
Joined: Tue Jun 29 2010 5:21pm
Has thanked: 710 times
Been thanked: 2177 times
Contact:

Re: Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by pabenny » Tue Oct 08 2019 5:41pm

The DWP knows your status as a parent through your child benefit claim. They don't know that you are a grandparent -carer unless you tell them. In other words, you have to claim.

Also relevant to child benefit: if one of you is a higher earner and so gets the child benefit clawed back, don't disclaim it, otherwise the stay-at-home parent may not get the NI credits.
Thanked by: adamred6, planteria, emsky

expressman33
Posts: 12468
Joined: Tue Jun 29 2010 10:36pm
Location: stockport
Has thanked: 3006 times
Been thanked: 10641 times
Contact:

Re: Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by expressman33 » Tue Oct 08 2019 6:50pm

pabenny wrote:
Tue Oct 08 2019 5:41pm
The DWP knows your status as a parent through your child benefit claim. They don't know that you are a grandparent -carer unless you tell them. In other words, you have to claim.
yes , you can also check your pension statement by filling in form BR19 https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -statement

or online if you have a Gov Gateway a/c https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -statement
Thanked by: planteria, emsky

planteria
Posts: 6360
Joined: Tue Nov 23 2010 4:52pm
Location: England
Has thanked: 701 times
Been thanked: 1670 times
Contact:

Re: Grandparents who help with childcare at risk of missing out on full state pension – act NOW to protect it

Post by planteria » Wed Oct 09 2019 3:15pm

pabenny wrote:
Tue Oct 08 2019 5:41pm
...hey don't know that you are a grandparent -carer unless you tell them. In other words, you have to claim.
no grandparents involved here.. we're not that lucky. just my other half - good to know that she'll be building up NI credits.
Thanked by: emsky

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests