Child Benefit - protect NI contributions

texasp8

I signed up for Child Benefit in my name, but then found out that your NI contributions are protected whilst you are receiving it (these count towards your state pension).

Does this mean I should switch the Child Benefit to my wife's name? - as she is far more likely to be out of work after her maternity leave finishes than I am.

alwaysonthego_2

Yes if your wife does not earn enough to pay NI conts or decides not to work then she should be getting the CB in her name.

The main caregiver should be the one getting CB.

woozywendy

Your wifes NI contributions will be covered until the child is 12 if her name is on CB

midgetsmum

http:// www .businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1073867968

(not able to post links yet so copy and paste and remove the spaces) This website seems to give some good advice re National Insurance contributions

Different offices seem to be giving out different advice regarding Weekly Class 3 National Insurance contributions :mad: It's very frustrating, as one helpline is giving one piece of advice, that's immediately being negated by guidance from another helpline (I'll concede it's much more frustrating for the customers than for the advisors on the helplines). As far as Child Benefit Office has been advised by the Pensions Service, your wife doesn't need to have the CB claim in her name. As long as it's in your name your wife should also be covered by the contributions plan. I'd advise you to do as much research as possible before you send in a CB claim in your wife's name. Even if you advise you're willing to surrender your entitlement to her, it's a second claim being made for the child, and the only section that will process it will be the Rival Claims processing section. They currently have a timescale of up to 12 weeks to process claims, and in the meantime all CB payments for the child will be stopped, so you need to make sure you're not going through that hassle for nothing.

Also, if you decide to make a claim in your wife's name. call the CB helpline before sending in her form to say you want to surrender your entitlement. The child benefit office can now take a surrender of entitlement over the phone, and it means the processing section won't have to write to you, basically to say "A new claim for child benefit has been made for your child, do you agree to surrender your entitlement?". (IF CBO have to write to you to confirm more information, it can, and often does, delay the claim for a further 12 weeks from the date they receive your response).

alwaysonthego_2

What is contribution's plan?

The wife would not have to pay class 3 Ni conts if the CB claim was in her name. She should be the one claiming if she is the full time carer, I do not really understand what you're getting at.

midgetsmum

Sorry, just reread my last post and realised how confusing it was, so I went to the Direct Gov website to get more info. Basically HMRC used to have a scheme called Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), "which between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2010 helped protect your State Pension."

(The following information has been copied directly from the Direct Gov webpage for Home Responsibilities Protection)


Depending on your circumstances, either you would have qualified automatically for HRP or you would have had to apply. You got Home Responsibilities Protection automatically if you were:

• getting Child Benefit in your name for a child under the age of 16 and you had given the Child Benefit Office your National Insurance number
• getting Income Support and you didn't need to register for work because you were caring for someone who was sick or disabled

When working out your basic State Pension, the number of years you got Home Responsibilities Protection was taken away from the number of qualifying years needed to calculate your pension.
But for a full basic State Pension, Home Responsibilities Protection couldn't reduce the number of qualifying years below 20.

You also built up your additional State Pension if you qualified for Home Responsibilities Protection because you:

• got Child Benefit for a child under the age of six
• were looking after a sick or disabled person (including a child over the age of six)

Home Responsibilities Protection has been replaced for people reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010.

From 6 April 2010, parents and carers are able to build up qualifying years through new weekly credits for the basic State Pension and additional State Pension. If you are a parent or carer, you will get a credit for each week in which you:

• are getting Child Benefit for children aged under 12
• are an approved foster carer
• are caring for at least 20 hours a week for people who are getting Attendance Allowance, the middle-rate or highest-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, or Constant Attendance Allowance, or the need for care has been certified

There will be no limit to the credits awarded to parents and carers after April 2010, as long as you meet the qualifying rules.
If you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010, complete tax years of Home Responsibilities Protection you have already built up before 2010 have been converted into qualifying years up to a maximum of 22 years. These qualifying years will also count towards bereavement benefits.

As far as Child Benefit helpline staff have been advised, this new scheme is called Weekly Class 3 National Insurance Contributions, and if you claim CB, you don't have to surrender it to your partner for them to be eligible.

Hope that's cleared it up. Sorry again for the earlier post.

midgetsmum

Hi, me again. Just typing up the guidance as given to Child Benefit contact centre staff, as promised.

Home Responsibilities Protection replaced with new weekly class 3 National Insurance credits

Background

From 6 April 2010 most customers in receipt of Child Benefit (ChB) for a child under 12 automatically qualify to receive new weekly class 3 National Insurance credits. These credits help protect future entitlement to basic State Pension. This scheme replaces Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) which covered those customers who received ChB for a child under 16.

Customers who receied Child Benefit for a child under 6 automatically built up entitlement to an additional pension through State Second Pension (S2P). From 6 April 2010 customers receiving ChB for a child under 12 will instead receive weekly Earnings Factor credits to protect future entitlement to the State Second Pension.

Transferring ChB to another person to protect state pension entitlement
From 6 April 2010 there will no longer be a need for customers to surrender ChB so another person can protect their state pension entitlement. The customer should instead contact the Pension service helpline.

Adviser action

If customers have any queries regarding protecting their state pension you should direct them to www. direct.gov.uk/pensions or the Pensions Service helpline Tel 0845 606 0265, Textphone 0845 606 0285


(I'm still not allowed to post links, so copy and paste it and delete the space).

This is all the guidance that has been given to the Child Benefit Office, yet from what I've heard from customers, it's different from what they've been told by Jobcentre Plus/Citizen's Advice Bureau/the Pensions Services helpline themselves!!! As you can imagine, it's extremely annoying to be given guidance on something, only to be told by your customers that the advice you're giving them doesn't match what they're being told by anyone else :mad:

ab7167

Am I correct in thinking that this doesn't apply if I'm making enough NI contributions from working? I receive CB for 2 children but I work part time as well and pay full Class 1 Conts via PAYE. Someone mentioned to me that I need to check my pension is protected via CB, but I can't see how I need to check? Surely if I wasn't working it would happen automatically as they have my NI number, but does full class 1 NI negate the above scheme? Also does receiving Mat Pay of £123 per week count for class 1? I'm not sure if I'm covered for my 2 periods of mat leave? Sorry for going slightly off topic, I have no wish to spend hours on phone to DWP if no need.

themull1

home responsibilities protection covers you only if you aren't working in that particular tax year, if you have hrp and class 1, the hrp isn't counted.