Home Responsibilities Protection / NI Credits

iammikec

Hi

I have been trying to help my wife's mother find out some more information about her state pension, as she thinks that it is too low with only 13 qualifying years.

I am hoping that someone will be able to advise on whether HR or National Insurance Credits will apply to her?

She was born in October 1950 and reached state pension age in May 2011.

She had her first child in 1970 and her last child in 1982.

I don't know exactly how many years she worked for where her NI contributions were enough to qualify as full years, but I am guessing that this is the 13 years that they have recorded.

Regardless of the working years, from what I can gather she should have had some form of credit for the time that she was raising her children and receiving child benefit - this is either for the first 12 years or 16 years depending on whether it is HRP or NI Credits.

We have just requested a NI Contribution statement but from reading other posts I can see that this will take some time to arrive.

Not sure if I have given enough information on here so let me know if there is any further information needed to offer any advice.

Thanks!

JezR

Home Responsibility Protection was introduced in 1978, so any years before that wouldn't qualify.

iammikec

Hi JezR

Just looking on the GOV website and it says the following

Any HRP credits you had before 6 April 2010 have been converted into National Insurance credits (up to a maximum of 22 years). You must have reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010 for these credits to go towards your State Pension.

Would this mean that she should have had HRP from 1978 until 1998 when her youngest child reached the age of 16?

Be_Happy

Check, too, that she was receiving Child Benefit in HER name, not husband's name. Only that in her name will qualify.

McKneff

Was she given the choice when she took her pension out to claim it on 60% of her husbands contribution.


I am in the same position as her, and got 60% of my state pension through claiming it that way.

McKneff

McKneff wrote: »

Was she given the choice when she took her pension out to claim it on 60% of her husbands contribution.


I am in the same position as her, and got 60% of my state pension through claiming it that way.

How much state pension is she receiving please.

iammikec

@Be Happy - Child Benefit was always in her name.

@McKneff - I believe that this has been done recently when her husband retired himself. The original pension was £47.86 and she now gets somewhere between £60-£70 a week

teddysmum

I seem to recall that it was paid in full years from April to April and not until the child's 16th birthday. My younger son was born in July, so I got nothing from the April to July when he was 16.

iammikec

The youngest of 4 children was born in March.

I am thinking that she has no HRP on her record but won't know until the statement arrives - even if she did work at some point between 1978 and 1998, the combination of HRP and NI Contributions would make up the majority of that 20 year period.

She definitely worked full time from 1966-1972 and also worked for some of the period between 1974-1978.

My guess is that the 13 years are going to be from her work and that the HRP has been missed for some reason.

atush

Is her husband still alive? If so she will have at least 60%, and should have 20 years of HR credits. If the CB was in her name, and not recorded she needs to get it recorded.

My twins were 16 in July and I got it til August that same year.

iammikec

Yes, he is still alive - only turned 65 in May.

Child Benefit was definitely in her name.

So you can add the HRP to the 60% from her husbands contributions?