Protecting Your State Pension Entitlement

Home Responsibilities Protection and Child Benefit

Anyone staying at home looking after children under six is entitled to protect their basic Retirement Pension entitlement through what is known as Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), but the carer must be claiming Child Benefit.

It is important to remember that if you are not working, you are probably not paying any National Insurance (NI) contributions. Even if you are working part-time, you may not be paying enough contributions to count towards the state pension when you retire.

HRP will ensure that you do not get less basic Retirement Pension because you have spent time at home bringing up children. But to get HRP you must be getting Child Benefit in your own name. Child Benefit it usually paid to the mother. Fathers can claim Child Benefit, but they need the mother's agreement to do so. So it is very important that you fill out an application form to get the benefit in your own name (even if the benefit is still paid into the same joint bank account). It is difficult to get HRP backdated.

Further Information

• Child Benefit Helpline - 0870 155 5540
• The DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) publish a guide: State Pensions for Carers and Parents. You can DOWNLOAD it here.
  This is a PDF file and you will need Adobe Acrobate Reader to read it.
  You can Download Adobe Acrobat here.
• More information can be found at www.dwp.gov.uk