Consultants LCP (Lane, Clark and Peacock) have launched a new campaign urging people to check their State Pension entitlements. Mothers are being encouraged to check whether they may be due back payments after being underpaid State Pension money by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Since the late 1970s, the State Pension system has included measures to protect parents with gaps in their National Insurance (NI) records because of time spent out of paid work bringing up children. The system was originally called 'Home Responsibilities Protection’ (HRP) and is now known as National Insurance credits.
Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister who is now a partner at LCP encouraged anyone who has received Child Benefit since 1978/79 to check that the relevant credits are on their NI record - and if not, this can be fixed by filling in a form which could result in a higher weekly State Pension payment and a backdated lump sum.
