Grandparents who assist in caring for their grandchildren during the February half-term could potentially increase their state pension by £6,600. If you are below the state pension age and provide childcare for your grandkids, you may be eligible for Specified Adult Childcare Credits. These credits are a form of National Insurance Credits designed to help fill any gaps in your National Insurance record.
Research conducted by Quilter indicates that each year of transferred credit can result in an additional £330 in state pension income for the year 2025/26, potentially accumulating to nearly £6,600 over a 20-year retirement period. To qualify, you must have been under the state pension age (currently 66) when caring for the child, who should be under 12 years old, or under 17 if the child has a disability.
There is no minimum hourly requirement to qualify for Specified Adult Childcare credits, allowing even those who look after a child for just one day a week to potentially qualify. Claims can be backdated to 2011, ensuring that you may still be able to claim even if you have stopped caring for the child.
It is essential for the parent of the child to be receiving Child Benefit, as they will be transferring the usual National Insurance Credit to the grandparent. This transfer ensures that the parent continues to build their own National Insurance record for retirement, safeguarding their state pension forecast.
Apart from grandparents, other relatives such as aunties or uncles who regularly care for a child may also be eligible to make a claim. Most individuals require 35 qualifying National Insurance years to claim the full new state pension, which amounts to £230.25 per week, with a minimum of ten years needed to receive any amount at all.
To apply for Specified Adult Childcare Credits, you must complete form CA9176 on the official GOV.UK website, with signatures required from both you and the parent transferring the Credit. Recent data from a Freedom of Information request to HMRC reveals that there were 42,964 applications for these credits between October 2023 and September 2024.
Over the past five years, a total of 131,594 applications have been submitted, with 104,433 successfully approved. Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter, emphasized the importance of raising awareness about these credits, highlighting that each year of credit is worth £330 towards the state pension, and many eligible individuals may be missing out due to lack of awareness or knowledge about the application process.