Grandparents who assist in caring for their grandchildren during the February half-term holiday period could potentially increase their state pension by £6,600. If you are below the state pension age and provide childcare for your grandkids, you may be eligible for Specified Adult Childcare Credits. These credits, a form of National Insurance Credits, can help fill any gaps in your National Insurance record. Studies by Quilter indicate that each year of transferred credit can add about £330 to your annual state pension income for 2025/26, potentially yielding nearly £6,600 over a 20-year retirement span. To qualify, you must have been under the state pension age (currently 66) when looking after the child, and the child should be under 12 years old, or under 17 if they have a disability.
There is no minimum hourly requirement to qualify for Specified Adult Childcare credits, so even if you cared for the child only one day a week, you could still be eligible. Claims can be backdated to 2011, allowing you to claim even if you are no longer caring for the child. The child’s parent must be receiving Child Benefit, as they will be transferring their usual National Insurance Credit to the grandparent. It is crucial for the parent to ensure they are still building their own National Insurance record for retirement to avoid any impact on their state pension forecast. Other relatives such as aunts, uncles, or individuals who regularly care for a child may also qualify for these credits.
Most individuals need 35 qualifying National Insurance years to receive the full new state pension, which amounts to £230.25 per week, with a minimum requirement of ten years to receive any pension benefits. To claim Specified Adult Childcare Credits, you need to complete form CA9176 on GOV.UK, which requires signatures from both you and the parent transferring the Credit. Recent data from HMRC revealed that between October 2023 and September 2024, there were 42,964 applications for Specified Adult Childcare Credits, with a total of 131,594 applications over the past five years, of which 104,433 were approved.
Quilter’s head of retirement policy, Jon Greer, emphasized the value of these credits, noting that each year of credit amounts to £330 in state pension benefits. Greer also called for increased awareness of these credits, especially among lower-income families and communities where gaps in National Insurance records are more common.