Martin Lewis has warned Brits could be missing part of their state pension (Image: ITV)
The Money Saving Expert has warned that 210,000 Brits could be owed £8,377. Martin Lewis said on X (formerly Twitter): “The Govt was contacting people, but isn’t any longer. Thus the onus is on YOU to proactively check.”
Anyone who raised children between 1978 and 2010 could be entitled to payments averaging £8,377. Home Responsibilities Protection was designed to safeguard the state pension for individuals who took time away from employment or worked reduced hours to care for children or someone with a long-term illness or disability.
Historical HMRC mistakes mean thousands of predominantly women never had that protection recorded accurately, because National Insurance records weren’t always properly linked to Child Benefit or Family Allowance applications.
This leaves HMRC and DWP unable to identify everyone affected, which is why individuals are being urged to examine their own records rather than wait to be contacted. Official HMRC data shows the average payment is £8,377. Officials have dispatched more than 370,000 letters to people potentially affected.
The DWP and HMRC owe 210,000 Brits over £8,000 (Image: Getty)
The Government has previously stated: “Home Responsibilities Protection was a scheme that ran between April 6, 1978, and April 5, 2010, which reduced the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions a person with caring responsibilities needed to receive the full basic State Pension.
“The main cause of the issue was that NI numbers were not always recorded when customers claimed Child Benefit before 2000. The Government has estimated that around 210,000 individuals may have been affected by missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection.
“HMRC and DWP are working together to correct cases as quickly as possible. HMRC started contacting potentially impacted customers from September 2023, prioritising those above State Pension age.”
In a recent post on X, personal finance expert Lewis highlighted: “State Pension error! Did you take time off work (1978 to 2010) to look after children or someone with a long-term disability? You could be owed £10,000s.
“In brief: 100,000s wrongly have Nat Insurance gaps that reduce your State Pension as they should’ve got ‘Home Responsibilities Protection’. The Govt was contacting people, but isn’t any longer. Thus the onus is on YOU to proactively check.”
He went on to explain one case where a woman received an incredible £31,000 back from HMRC. The money-saving guru added: “Cilla emailed us, ‘I’ve just received 15yrs’ back pay from HMRC of £31,674 for underpayment of my pension.'”
In terms of the free check, the Government has said: “To correct this issue, potentially impacted customers will be invited to check their eligibility and make an application to HMRC for Home Responsibilities Protection. To help individuals determine their eligibility, a self-identification tool is available on GOV.UK.
“Where an application is successful, those with a State Pension impact will have their award corrected and any arrears paid. HMRC and DWP will also trigger a wider communications campaign, working with key stakeholders and representative bodies, to ensure that all those who may be eligible are aware of this.
“Before making an application, people can learn more about Home Responsibilities Protection, check the eligibility criteria and find the application form online at www.gov.uk/home-responsibilities-protection-hrp/eligibility. Customers under State Pension age can check their National Insurance and State Pension forecasts online at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.”
You could qualify if you:
Received Income Support as a carer.
Looked after someone who was sick or disabled and receiving certain benefits.
Once a claim is passed to HMRC and the DWP, processing typically takes around four to six months.