Martin Lewis has issued a message to grandparents who look after their grandchildren, saying that they could be missing out on adding 'thousands' to their state pension.
The MoneySavingExpert founder has regularly taken to Twitter in order to issue advice to households to ensure they are getting all the help they are entitled to amid the cost of living crisis . Martin’s latest piece of advice was on Specified Adult Childcare credits, urging those who are eligible to apply.
Martin explained: “There’s a little known benefit for grandparents who look after their grandchildren while parents work. If you're a parent of a [child] under 12, if your parent (ie child’s grandparent) does childcare so you can work, you can apply to get them Specified Adult Childcare Credit.”
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He continued: “This means they get the National Insurance years that normally go to a parent who is off work looking after children (as you’re working you’ll usually be getting from work). This can add £1,000s to a state pension.”
Specified Adult Childcare credits were introduced from April 2011 - grandparents, as well as other family members, may be entitled to these National Insurance credits if they care for a child in their family under 12 while their main parent or carer is working. If you’re eligible due to childcare responsibilities, you will receive a Class 3 National Insurance credit for each week or part of the week you card for the child - these credits help to build your entitlement to the State Pension .
As Martin explained, these work by transferring the National Insurance credit attached to Child Benefit from the recipient to the family member who is providing care. You can claim Child Benefit if you're responsible for bringing up a child who is aged under 16, or under 20 if they are still in approved education or training.
You can also apply for the credits if you are a parent who does not live with the child, or are another relative such as their sibling, aunt or uncle. If you provided care in a different way due to Covid since March 2020, for example over the phone or by video, you can still apply for these credits.
You will need to complete an application form in order to apply for Specified Adult Childcare - the credits can also be awarded retrospectively, back to 6 April 2011 at the earliest. You can find out more on the gov.uk website .
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