MILLIONS of people could be eligible to claim a little-known benefit that could boost their pension by up to £342 a year.
If you’re an unpaid carer or have taken a career break to raise children, you might not be aware you could have access to something called Carer’s Credit.
The DWP benefit is aimed at helping to boost the state pensions of people who have taken time out of work to care for others.
To qualify for the full state pension, you need to have a minimum of 35 years of National Insurance contributions.
You only pay National Insurance when you’re earning above £12,570 a year.
It means people who have taken time out of work or have gone part-time to care for children or other relatives might not be building up their National Insurance contributions.
They could therefore have less in their state pension when they retire.
The full state pension is worth £230.25 a week, or £11,973 per year.
Households are now being urged to claim Carer’s Credit to make sure they’re not missing out.
Carer’s Credit can help you fill the gaps in your National Insurance record and make sure any years you spent providing unpaid care are still counted.
By claiming it, you could potentially increase your state pension by £342 a year.
Over the course of a typical retirement, that could add up to £6,000 in total.
How to check if you might be missing out
It’s worth checking first whether there are gaps in your National Insurance record.
You can check this by looking at your state pension forecast.
You can see this and your state pension age through the government’s Check your State Pension tool online at gov.uk/check-state-pension.
The tool is also available through the HMRC app, which you can download free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
You’ll need to log in using your Personal Tax Account login details.
If you don’t already have an online HMRC account, you can register at gov.uk.
It shows you how much your state pension could increase by and what NI years you’ll need to buy or free credits to apply for to achieve this.
Check if you’re eligible for Carer’s Credits
Carer’s Credit can help fill in gaps in your NI record if you’re an unpaid or low-paid carer.
To get Carer’s Credit you must be:
- Aged 16 or over
- Under state pension age (66)
- Looking after one or more people for at least 20 hours a week
The person you’re looking after must get one of the following:
- Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) daily living part
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Child Disability Payment (CDP) care component at the middle or highest rate
- Adult Disability Payment daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate
- Pension Age Disability Payment
If the person you’re caring for does not get one of these benefits, you may still be able to get Carer’s Credit.
When you apply, fill in the Care Certificate part of the application form and get a health or social care professional to sign it.
Thousands are thought to be missing out on these NI Credits, leaving them worse off in retirement.
You can check the full list of people eligible to claim credits by visiting http://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility.
It explains the circumstances where you’ll need to claim and when you’ll get it automatically.
What you need to know about Carer’s Credit
CARER’S credits are available if you’re caring for someone for at least 20 hours a week.
You have to be aged 16 or over and under state pension age, and the person you’re caring for must be on certain benefits – see gov.uk for the full list.
Credits aren’t paid in cash but instead they’re a NI credit that helps with gaps in your national insurance record.
This is important because how much you eventually get – if anything – from the state pension is based on your NI record.
To apply, download and send back the carer’s credit claim form on gov.uk.
You don’t need to apply if you get Carer’s Allowance or Child Benefit for a child under 12 as you’ll automatically get credits, and if you are a foster carer you should apply for NI credits instead.
How to claim
There are some circumstances where you don’t need to apply for Carer’s Credit, as you’ll automatically get credits.
This can be if you get Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment, or if you get Child Benefit for a child under the age of 12.
If you’re a foster carer, you can apply for National Insurance credits instead.
If you are eligible for Carer’s Credit, you can apply by downloading the form on this page.
You can also get the form by calling the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297.
You should then send your form to: Freepost DWP Carers Allowance Unit.
Don’t write anything except this address on the envelope – you also won’t need a postcode or stamp.
If you disagree with a decision about your claim, you can ask for a “mandatory reconsideration”.
You can do this by contacting the Carers Allowance Unit within a month of the date on your decision letter.
