Dan Whitworth urged people to check if they can claim the money (Image: BBC)
A BBC expert has outlined how anyone who had children during a 32-year timeframe could be entitled to a substantial back payment following an HMRC error. The matter concerns Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a programme that operated between April 1978 and April 2010.
HRP was established to safeguard parents and carers who were prevented from accumulating complete National Insurance contributions whilst looking after children or caring for someone who was ill or disabled.
BBC Radio 4’s Money Box journalist Dan Whitworth previously discussed the error, which has resulted in approximately £1.2 billion being owed to individuals in outstanding HRP payments. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) introduced a correction programme in 2023.
Speaking on BBC Morning Live, Mr Whitworth said: “This is specifically something to do with home responsibilities protection or HRP. And it doesn’t really matter what it’s called, too much. What matters is when people, mainly women, took time out of the workplace to care for children and claim child benefit, they should have had this HRP added to their national insurance records so that when they came to retire, they didn’t lose out on their state pension because they weren’t working.
“They were actually raising children, which is obviously good for everybody, right? But essentially, what it does is when you have HRP added to your record. It brings down the number of years you need to qualify for a full state pension. Now, you can get HRP. So, there are certain criteria you have to fill. So, you can get HRP if you’re claiming child benefit for under-16s.
“And this was between 1978 and 2010. So, if this is you claiming child benefit for under 16s, between 1978 and 2010, if you’re getting income support for caring for sick or disabled people, or if you are caring for a sick or disabled person who is claiming certain benefits. So if you meet any of those criteria that you can see on your screen now, this could be worth you claiming for this money.”
In one instance featured on the programme, a viewer acted upon the information and submitted a claim. She had spent 13 years at home with her child during the 1980s whilst receiving Child Benefit. HRP should have lowered her necessary contributions from 39 years to 26 years, entitling her to the full State Pension.
Due to the absence of these credits, her pension had been underpaid for 16 years. Following the correction, she obtained a lump sum exceeding £35,500 and her weekly pension increased from £120 to £180. Mr Whitworth said: “It’s the most remarkable story. I’ve been working with Money Stories for about seven years and this is one of the most standout I’ve ever come across. Watching Morning Live prompted her to apply for her underpaid state pension Just a few days ago, I received an email from HMRC sent to her on her behalf. £35,000.
“And it’s not just that obviously life-changing sum of money that she was owed, but also going forward her state pension now is going to be an extra £60 per week, which she should always have been getting paid by the way, which she wasn’t. But £60 week. You times that by month, you times that by year. “
When the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) introduced a correction initiative in 2023, it calculated that approximately £1.2 billion was outstanding to individuals in unpaid HRP contributions. The Government anticipated that roughly 90% of those qualifying would make claims.
In reality, participation has been considerably lower. As of March 2025, merely 8% of affected individuals had stepped forward, resulting in only £104 million in repayments. That means over £1.1 billion remains outstanding.
HMRC is using National Insurance (NI) records to trace as many people as possible who may have qualified for HRP between 1978 and 2010 but have no HRP on their NI record, and is sending letters to some. Experts have calculated tens of thousands of people are owed an average of £5,000 in backdated payments.
How to check if you are owed money
If you think you may be affected by HRP underpayments, there are clear steps you can take:
Call HMRC on 0300 200 3500 and ask to check if you are eligible for Home Responsibilities Protection credits.
Use the online eligibility checker, external provided by the government. From there, you can complete the application either online or by downloading form CF411 and posting it to HMRC.
Once processed, the Department for Work and Pensions may adjust your pension and contact you with details of any repayment or increase to your weekly amount.
Who can apply
You may still be able to apply for HRP if, for full tax years (6 April to 5 April) between 1978 and 2010, you were either:
- sharing the care of a child under 16 with a partner you lived with and they claimed Child Benefit instead of you – you may be able to transfer their HRP
- caring for a sick or disabled person
You can also apply if, for a full tax year between 2003 and 2010, you were either:
- a foster carer
- caring for a friend or family member’s child (‘kinship carer’) in Scotland
If you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010
Any HRP you had for full tax years before 6 April 2010 was automatically converted into National Insurance credits, if you needed them, up to a maximum of 22 qualifying years.