HMRC had been sending letters to people who had children between 1978 and 2010 due to the error – not they have to check themselves
Martin Lewis has issued a warning to anyone who had children during a 32-year period that they could be entitled to £10,000 or more in backdated tax payments due to an administrative blunder.
The money-saving guru said people could be in line for enormous payouts – with one individual telling him she received £31,000.
Posting on X last month, Mr Lewis declared: “State Pension error! Did you take time off work (1978 to 2010) to look after children or someone with long term disability? You could be owed £10,000s.”
He explained: “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.”
His intervention comes after HMRC ceased writing to potential victims, meaning individuals must now pursue claims independently.
He explained: “This is about a state pension error. The reason that I’m doing it now is not because it’s new – it isn’t new – this has been around for quite a long time and the government were contacting the potentially hundreds of thousands of primarily women aged between 41 and 90 – it isn’t only women it’s primarily women and it’ll generally be of that age.
“They could be the victim of a state pension error that could mean they’re owed a fortune. The government was contacting them but then Steve Webb former pensions minister got in touch with us, with me, and said ‘they’ve stopped contacting them – they’re no longer trying to rectify this’.”
Mr Lewis shared: “Cilla emailed us, “I’ve just received 15yrs’ back pay from HMRC of £31,674 for underpayment of my pension. Thank you.”
HMRC is utilising National Insurance (NI) records to identify as many individuals as possible who might have been eligible for HRP between 1978 and 2010 and have no HRP on their NI record, sending out some correspondence.
Accountants Robson Laidler have stated that individuals could be owed an average of £5,000 in backdated payments.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates it has underpaid between £300m and £1.5billion of state pension due to mistakes with the recording of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP).
HRP was a system created to help safeguard parents’ and carers’ entitlement to the State Pension and was superseded by NI credits from April 6, 2010. HMRC is trawling through National Insurance (NI) records to pinpoint individuals who might have been entitled to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) from 1978 to 2010 but don’t have it on their record, and they’re sending out letters to those affected.
A spokesperson from Robson Laidler mentioned: “It is estimated tens of thousands of people are due an average of £5,000 in back payments. HMRC and DWP are also conducting a wider campaign to ensure that everyone who may be eligible is aware of the corrections exercise.”
HM Revenue and Customs has stated: “HMRC will send you a letter if we think you may have missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP). We want to help you make sure you receive the right amount of State Pension, so we’re asking you to check if you were eligible for HRP between 1978 and 2010. You may have been eligible if you received Child Benefit for a child under 16.”
They added, “The letter will tell you how you can check if you’re eligible to claim missing Home Responsibilities Protection and how to make a claim.”
Could a Missing HRP Record Affect Your State Pension?
If HRP is missing from someone’s NI record, it does not necessarily mean that their State Pension calculation is wrong, but it could be, especially if they took significant time-out from employment to raise a family.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury has stated: “The State Pension is the foundation of state support for people in retirement. We are urging people to check their National Insurance records to make sure they will receive the pension they deserve.”
Limited Records and Ongoing Repayments
Unfortunately, HMRC delete child benefit claims after 5 years so they do not actually know who may be affected, they are contacting people who they think may be affected. Permanent Secretary, Peter Schofield has confirmed that the DWP has already paid out over £700 million and that the team are making good progress, despite a slow rate of individuals approaching the department about this issue.
A Robson Laidler spokesperson said: “We would therefore advise checking your own NI records rather than waiting for a letter from DWP/HMRC to arrive. There is no time limit for applying for HRP if it has not been awarded.
“Anyone who may have claimed Child Benefit before May 2000, when it was not mandatory to provide your National Insurance Number on your claim, may not have the correct number of years for State Pension purposes on their NI record, if you first made a claim after May 2000, you will not be affected.”
How to Check and Apply
Before you start the online HRP check you will be asked if you have gaps in your National Insurance record. If you cannot find your National Insurance record online or do not know the answers to any of the questions, you can choose ‘Do not know’ and you’ll be told how to get this information.
Should you need to apply for HRP, or if you believe your record to be incorrect you should fill in form CF411 ‘application form Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP)’.
For more information or advice about your HRP application, you should contact HMRC here.
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.