Martin Lewis urges State Pension claimants to apply…

Martin Lewis urges State Pension claimants to apply for 'little known' DWP benefit

MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis has issued an urgent alert to grandparents over the State Pension age, who could be missing out on thousands in benefits.

The financial guru has issued this advice as the cost of living crisis continues to rage on across the UK, sending thousands of elderly people into money struggles. Martin has shared a "little known" benefit that is created specially for those over State Pension age who look after their children's little ones while they go out to work.

Posting on Twitter on Monday, October 10, Mr Lewis wrote: "There's a little known benefit for grandparents who look after their grandchildren while parents work.

"If you're a parent of an under 12, if your parent (ie child's grandparent) do childcare so you can work, you can apply to get them "Specified Adult Childcare Credit."

He added: "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."

So, what is this Specified Adult Childcare Credit benefit, and how can people access it? Read on below for all you need to know about this lesser-known payment.

Who is eligible for Specified Adult Care benefit?

According to the GOV.UK website, those who can apply for the benefit are have to meet the following criteria:

If:

You are a grandparent, or other family member caring for a child under 12.

You were over 16, and under state pension age when you cared for the child.

You are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, meaning England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

The child’s parent (or main carer) is entitled to Child Benefit and has a qualifying year for National Insurance without needing the parent’s class 3 NI credits which they receive automatically from Child Benefit (they can check their National Insurance record online to see if they have any gaps in contributions).

The child’s parent (or main carer) agrees to your application by countersigning the form to confirm that you cared for their child for the period stated, or you can have the Class 3 NI credit for the period stated.

You cannot apply for the Specified Adult Childcare Credit benefit if you:

Already have a qualifying year of National Insurance – usually because you work or receive other NI credits (you can check your National Insurance record online to see if you have any gaps in contributions).
Are receiving Child Benefit for the child – you already get Parent’s credits automatically.
Are the partner of, and live with, the Child Benefit recipient and you want to transfer the Parent’s credits from your spouse or partner to yourself – you apply to do this on form CF411A.

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