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