Parents looking after children are entitled to adjustments to their NI record to ensure they don’t lose out on state pension entitlement. However, tens of thousands of people who claimed child benefit between 1978 and 2000 could be receiving too little in state pension because their NI records were not adjusted for home responsibilities protection (HRP). We initially reported this back in October 2024, but the scale of the problem appears to be greater than first thought. HRP reduced the number of qualifying years of NI contributions needed for the pre full basic state pension. While NI records were automatically adjusted between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2010 (when HRP was replace by NI credits), prior to May 2000 many child benefit claimants didn’t provide their NI number meaning they may not have benefited from HRP.  According to the government’s latest figures the average total loss to date of state pension for each person affected is over £7,850.

Those who claimed child benefit between 1978 and 2000 should check their NI records to see if they are eligible to make a claim for HRP. HMRC has also produced a short video about HRP on LinkedIn if you’re unsure as to what it relates to.