Grandparents who look after their grandchildren could add an extra £2,675 a year to their state pension using National Insurance credits.
Looking after grandchildren is a wholesome experience many look forward to in their retirement. You are probably already aware of the benefits of spending time with little ones; from stimulating your mind to increasing activity levels, all whilst saving your children a fortune in childcare costs and worry of choosing the ‘right’ nursery! But did you know you could also qualify for National Insurance credits to top up your income in retirement if you are of working age?
How does it work?
- Specified Adult Childcare credits work by transferring the National Insurance credit attached to Child Benefit from the recipient of the Child Benefit to a family member who is providing care for a related child under 12.
- Essentially, working parents can give up the Child Benefit credits they receive and donate them to their child’s grandparents or other adult family members for the previous tax year.
- If you are a grandparent or family member of working age (currently up to age 66) and care for grandchildren who are under the age of 12, you could qualify for National Insurance credits that can top up your income in retirement.
- The child’s parent/main carer must be working for you to be eligible to claim and must approve you claiming for this benefit.
- The National Insurance credit benefit could earn you £230 every year. This could generate as much as £4,500 over a typical 20-year retirement.
- Parents or main carers can claim National Insurance Credits under a separate scheme.
- You can complete the form online, here.
As many as 90,000 grandparents and family members are missing out, so make sure you aren’t one of them:
As is the case with many benefits, if you don’t know about them you miss out and according to recent research, as many as 90,000 grandparents and family members are losing out on the little-known benefit that can increase your State Pension. With over 60% of the childcare provision in UK undertaken by grandparents, you are likely to at least know someone who is eligible, even if you aren’t yourself; so make sure you pass the valuable information on!
Find out more information about the National Credit benefit and apply here.
