Grandparents can get £6,600 pension boost for looking after kids during summer holidays – but thousands miss out
HELPING HAND Grandparents can get £6,600 pension boost for looking after kids during summer holidays – but thousands miss out
GRANDPARENTS can get a £6,600 pension boost for looking after kids during summer holidays.
Many grandparents are unaware they can be financially compensated for the time spent looking after their grandchildren.
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Grandparents can be compensated for looking after the grandhildren
Credit: Getty
The help will come in handy as 53% of grandparents with grandchildren aged under 18 will look after them this summer, according to research by MyVoucherCodes.
They are expected to pay more than £21 per day on each child on average, up from £15.80 per day last summer.
Sarah-Jane Outten, consumer and shopping expert at MyVoucherCodes, said: 'It's clear to see that many parents across the UK are calling on grandparents to step in to help with childcare, but for some, the generosity is coming at a cost."
But there is a way for grandparents to get extra support.
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Specified adult childcare credits are a type of National Insurance (NI) credit that can help you qualify for the full state pension.
You need 35 years' worth of NI contributions to get the full amount worth £230.25 a week.
It means parents and other relatives looking after a child under 12 can give their pension a boost.
Recent research obtained by wealth manager Quilter from HMRC found only 104,433 people have successfully claimed the credits in the past five years.
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Just 42,962 people applied for the credits last year, even though 78% of applications are successful.
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Every year of transferred credit will boost your state pension by £330 a year.
This could add nearly £6,600 to the value of your state pension over the course of a 20-year retirement.
You can also backdate your claim to 2011, when the credits were first introduced.
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Who is eligible?
You can claim if you are an eligible family member and responsible for caring for a child whose parents claim child benefit; otherwise, there are no national insurance credits to transfer.
Moreover, there is only one credit available per child benefit claim, regardless of the number of children.
So even if you care for two of your grandchildren, only one credit can be transferred to you.
It is also important to note that the credits are available for transfer only if you are under the state pension age.
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The child you are caring for must also be under 12 years old, or 17 if they have disabilities.
To claim, you must live in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
How do I claim?
You need to wait until October 31 to apply for the current tax year.
This is because HMRC needs to check that the parent or main carer already has a qualifying year of National Insurance.
They should check their National Insurance record to make sure they have credits they can transfer.
Parents and carers can check their National Insurance record on the gov.uk website.
Before you apply for the credits you will need the child's details and a record of the periods when you provided care for them.
You will also need the contact details of the child's parent or main carer who receives the child benefit.
Both you and the person who receives the child benefit must sign a declaration on the application form.
You then need to complete the CA9176 form online.
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