- Government says its fix will cover all parents affected – going back to 2013
- Hardly anyone is aware of a connection between child benefit and state pension
- This is Money campaigned for years for fair treatment for parents denied credits
Victory for parents: Government climbdown on valuable state pension credits
Mums who have missed out on on valuable state pension credits will be able to claim them from April 2026, the Government has announced.
This is Money campaigned for years for fair treatment for parents who do not qualify for child benefit, yet stood to lose tens of thousands of pounds in old age if they did not claim it anyway.
The Government now says its fix will cover all parents affected, going back to the overhaul of child benefit in 2013, after finally abandoning its defence of current state pension rules last spring.
Hardly anyone is aware there is a connection between child benefit and how much state pension you could receive decades from now.
Many new mums and dads told us they had no idea this innocent misunderstanding of obscure child benefit rules could cost them dear in retirement.
Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, who lobbied with This is Money to get mums their credits, said today: ‘It is vital that the new system will be simple to access and widely publicised so that it reaches all those who are currently at risk of a shortfall in their state pension.’
An announcement issued by HMRC said: ‘The Government will legislate to introduce a route for people to apply for National Insurance credits for parents and carers for tax years where they have not claimed child benefit, to ensure that people do not miss out on their state pension entitlement.
‘The credit will add qualifying years of National Insurance where eligible which will support future state pension eligibility.’
HMRC said legislation will be brought forward as soon as possible that will allow individuals to claim this credit from 2026, and eligibility will be closely based on the criteria for receiving child benefit.
‘Transitional arrangements will ensure those affected since 2013 are still able to claim. Going forward, applications will be available for six years following the relevant tax year,’ it said.
Webb, now a partner at LCP and This is Money’s pension columnist, added: ‘It is welcome news that the Government is finally going to address the problem of parents missing out on vital credits towards their state pension.’
But he went on: ‘It is extraordinary that we have had ten years in which people’s state pension records have been damaged by the impact of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge, and now the Government has had to invent another system to fix the problems caused by its own policy.’
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘The state pension prospects for many parents and carers received a huge boost today as the government announced detail on how they can plug gaps in their National Insurance records caused by not claiming child benefit.
‘The introduction of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge back in 2013 prompted many people to stop claiming child benefit.
‘However, many didn’t realise they were also missing out on vital credits towards their state pension.
‘Subsequent efforts to enable them to claim the National Insurance credit without receiving child benefit did help but many parents and carers were still left with gaps in their records that would lead to a lower state pension.
‘From April 2026 they can claim a credit to fill these gaps with transitional arrangements making sure those with gaps going back to 2013 won’t miss out.
‘It’s a welcome step forward in resolving a saga that has added unnecessary complexity to people’s retirement planning.’
