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Grandparents save parents £9,500 a year babysitting children

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
24/06/2019

Grandparents save mums and dads a staggering £9,500 a year in childcare costs, a new study reveals.

On average, grandparents give up 11.5 hours a week looking after their grandchildren and the majority – 87 per cent – receive no financial compensation.

According to the research by later life lender Hodge, one in three grandparents think their children would not be able to afford formal childcare, while 53 per cent said providing free childcare has enabled parents to return to full-time work.

Hodge is urging grandparents and family members who provide care for children under the age of 12 to check if they are eligible for Specified Adult Childcare National Insurance credits.

These credits are added to the grandparent’s National Insurance record and, if they are still under state pension age, can help them to increase their state pension payments.

For more see: Calling all grandparents! Don’t miss out on £5k pension boost

Matt Burton, of Hodge, said: “When we think about generous grandparents we usually think about extravagant Birthday and Christmas gifts, not their time.

“But, by selflessly giving up their hard-earned free time grandparents are helping new parents to return to work and saving them thousands of pounds a year in the process.”