Grandparents doing childcare can get extra £303 in State Pension - check your eligibility

Elderly people caring for children under 12 during term-time or school holidays could potentially boost their State Pension payments by £303 a year - or more than £6,000 across a typical 20-year retirement period. This can be achieved by claiming a National Insurance benefit from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

At present, an extra National Insurance credit can increase the full New State Pension by around £303 annually.

This boost to the State Pension is known as Specified Adult Childcare. It works by transferring the National Insurance credit associated with Child Benefit from the recipient of the Child Benefit to a family member looking after a related child under 12, or 17 if they have a disability.

For each week or part week you cared for the child, you will receive a Class 3 National Insurance credit. However, only one credit is available per Child Benefit claim, regardless of how many children are included in the claim.

For example, if two grandparents looked after their daughter's two children, only one credit is available for transfer. The recipient of the Child Benefit must decide who should receive the credit, according to the Daily Record.

However, if grandparents have a son and are caring for both their daughter's child and their son's child, it's likely that there are two Child Benefit recipients, hence two credits available for transfer. If Child Benefit hasn't been claimed for the child, there's no associated National Insurance credit to transfer, and credits can't be granted.

While this may sound complicated, the boost is only accessible to those looking after children whose parents are employed and thus don't need the National Insurance credits from claiming Child Benefit for their own State Pension.

It's also noteworthy that retrospective claims for Specified Adult Childcare can be made dating back to April 6, 2011.

Claims for providing remote care during the Covid-19 pandemic

As per GOV.UK guidelines, your usual caring arrangements may have been disrupted by Covid-19 from March 2020.

The site suggests that if you provided care, even remotely via phone, text message or video call during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, you might be able to fill any gaps in your National Insurance record by claiming Specified Adult Childcare.

This applies to the tax years 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021.

The full, New State Pension currently stands at £221.20 per week, equivalent to £11,502 annually. However, to receive this maximum amount, you need roughly 35 years' worth of National Insurance contributions.

A minimum of 10 years is necessary to receive any payment at all. Some people may have been 'contracted out' and will need more than 35 years - find out more here.

Who is eligible to apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits?

You are eligible to apply if:

• you are an eligible family member who provided care for a child under 12
• you were over 16 and under State Pension age when you provided care for the child
• the child’s parent (or main carer) has claimed Child Benefit but does not need the credits themselves
• you are ordinarily resident in the UK but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man

The child's parent (or primary carer) agrees to your application by counter-signing the form to confirm that you:

• provided care for their child for the period stated
• can have the credits for the period stated

Who qualifies as an eligible family member

You qualify as an eligible family member if you are the:

• brother or sister - including a half-brother or half-sister, step-brother or step-sister, an adopted brother or an adopted sister, aunt or uncle
• grandparent, great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent
• mother or father who does not live with the child

You also qualify as an eligible family member if you are either the:

• current or previous husband, wife, partner or civil partner of anyone in the list above
• son or daughter of the current or previous husband, wife, partner or civil partner of anyone in the list above

Who should not apply

Do not apply for credits if during the same period you:

• already have a qualifying year of National Insurance - usually because you work or receive other National Insurance credits
• are receiving Child Benefit for any child and already get credits automatically

If you are the spouse or partner living with the Child Benefit recipient and wish to transfer the credits to yourself, you need to fill out form CF411A,

When to apply

You must wait until October 31 after the end of the tax year you want to apply for. This means you can now claim for the financial years 2011/12 - 2023/24.

This is because HMRC needs to verify that the parent or main carer already has a qualifying year for National Insurance purposes.

What you need to apply

To fill out an application form, you will need:

• your personal details as the eligible family member that provided care for the child
• the child’s details and the periods you provided care for them
• the personal details of the child’s parent or main carer - the Child Benefit recipient

The HMRC guidance states that both you and the Child Benefit recipient must sign a declaration on the application form. It also advises that the child's parent or main carer should check their National Insurance record online before you apply, to ensure that they have credits to transfer.

Full details on how to apply can be found on the GOV.UK website here.