If you claimed Child Benefit before May 2000 and did not give your National Insurance number with the claim, you would have missed out on receiving Home Responsibility Protection (HRP).
The payment was applied to parents who claimed financial support for their kids between 1978 and 2000.
It was introduced to cut the number of years a person with caring responsibilities – in this case, for a child – needs to work to receive a full basic state pension. In 2010, National Insurance credits replaced HRP.
So, HMRC is urging parents, particularly women, to check to see whether they can top up their pension pot for free.
You can do this by checking your eligibility and making a claim on Gov.uk, which takes about 15 minutes to complete. HMRC also confirmed you can claim through the post with the form CF411.
The backlog of payments may be in the tens of thousands for Child Benefit claimants, and a quarter of a million pensioners could be eligible for an HRP boost to their pension.
To address the issue, HMRC wrote to 257,000 pensioners who may have HRP missing from their NI record. The Government has clarified that neither parents nor pensioners need to wait for any communication from HMRC before they make a claim.
Once you make a claim and it is accepted, your NI record will be updated and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will re-calculate your state pension entitlement.
If you have already been receiving your pension for some time, you could receive an arrears payment. You can check your NI record online here, to see if HRP was added.
The potential pension boost follows its expected increase of 4% in April 2025, lifting the fund to £12,000 per year for some retirees.
It’s dependent on when they left the workforce, but for those who received the full ‘new’ state pension from 6 April 2016, their earnings will rise to £230.05 per week.
‘Security and dignity in retirement’
Emma Reynolds, minister for pensions, said: “The Government’s priority is to ensure pensioners have security and dignity in retirement.
“I strongly encourage anyone who thinks they are missing out to check their eligibility and apply for Home Responsibilities Protection – taking just a few minutes out of your day now could mean a boost to your retirement.”
The quickest way to claim missing HRP is online, but you can also call the NI Helpline on 0300 200 3500 for support.
