More than 200,000 people who had children between 1978 and 2010 could be owed thousands in back payments because of an HM Revenue and Customs error, according to a BBC finance expert. Appearing on BBC Morning Live, Iona Bain said the issue relates to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a government scheme designed to fill gaps in National Insurance records for people who took time out of work to care for children or sick or disabled relatives.
How the HRP error happened
HRP ran from 1978 to 2010 and was intended to protect the state pension entitlement of parents, mostly women, who took time off work. However, a flaw in the system meant that anyone who made a Child Benefit claim after 2000 needed to provide their National Insurance number on the claim form for their HRP eligibility to be recorded.
Ms Bain explained that lots of people did not know they had to do this, so their HRP entitlement was not registered. The problem came to the government's attention in recent years, and it began a correction exercise, writing to those who might be affected and inviting them to claim missing HRP.
Who is most likely to be affected
It is estimated that 200,000 people could still be missing out on HRP. Ms Bain said the message is mainly aimed at women in their 60s and 70s, and urged people to spread the word to friends, neighbours, or loved ones who may have been affected.
The plea echoes one from money expert Martin Lewis, who said one listener who claimed the money received £31,674 for underpayment of state pension. Mr Lewis outlined the groups most likely affected: women currently aged between 41 and 90, mainly in their 60s and 70s, who took time away from paid work to look after a child or a person with a long-term disability at any point between 1978 and 2010, and who claimed Child Benefit or income support for the first time before May 2000.
How to check and claim
Mr Lewis advised people to go to Gov.uk, find their state pension forecast, and check if they are entitled to full state pension years. If there are gaps in their National Insurance record from 1978 to 2010, they may be missing HRP and should look up guides online on what to do next.
Those who first claimed Child Benefit after May 2000 will not be affected and do not need to contact HMRC, because it became mandatory in May 2000 to provide a National Insurance number for Child Benefit claims. Class 3 National Insurance credits for parents and carers available from 6 April 2010 have been recorded correctly, as have partial periods of HRP.
