If you cared for a child or someone with a long‑term disability between 1978 and 2010, you may have gaps in your National Insurance record that are reducing your State Pension – and you might not even know it. Home Responsibilities Protection gaps are at the centre of this issue, with more than 100,000 people believed to be affected.
Home Responsibilities Protection, known as HRP, was introduced to help people, often women, who stepped away from paid employment to care for children or relatives with long-term illnesses. It should have reduced the number of qualifying years needed to receive a full State Pension, ensuring those years spent caring did not count against you. However, errors in the system mean many of those years were never properly recorded.
People most likely to be affected are now in their 60s and 70s, but the eligibility window is wider. If you claimed Child Benefit or Income Support before May 2000 and did not include your National Insurance number, or if your partner claimed the Child Benefit while you were the one caring at home, your record may not show those years. This can mean you are receiving less than you are entitled to, or forecasts suggest you will not reach a full State Pension.
You can check your own position by looking at your National Insurance record through the official Gov.uk service or by calling the National Insurance helpline. If you see gaps in your record from 1978 to 2010 that coincide with years you were caring for someone or raising a child, you may be missing Home Responsibilities Protection. Applications can still be made, and HMRC has said they will update your record if you are eligible.
The process of claiming might involve providing evidence such as Child Benefit details or confirmation from a fostering agency if you were a kinship carer. For those who have already reached State Pension age, the Department for Work and Pensions will reassess your entitlement once the record is corrected, and any underpayment can be backdated. There have already been examples of people receiving significant payments after their records were reviewed.
For those concerned about how this might affect them, HMRC has been writing to people identified as potentially affected, but you do not need to wait for a letter to act. You can apply online or by post and ensure that years spent caring are properly recognised in your National Insurance record.
For further insights into benefits and financial updates, take a look at our coverage on HMRC transformation plans. For more updates on State Pension entitlements and related guidance, visit EyeOnLondon – and we’d love to hear your views in the comments.
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