Carers allowance and transferring NI credits

RichGee

I'm retired and 18 months away from state pension. For the last 2 years I've received a Carers Allowance in respect of our daughter. As a result I have received NI credits - which I do not need as I have enough qualifying years. Can these be retrospectively transferred to my wife to make up for 2 of the 5 qualifying years she is missing? I think the answer is probably 'No,' as the credits are linked to me and my NI number, but would like a definitive answer if possible. 

calcotti

If she's under 12 and you get Child Benefit for her I think it is possible to transfer the credits but  I don't think there's any mechanism for it if your daughter is an adult with a disability.
You could now cancel your claim and your wife could then claim instead which would at least allow her to get the credits in future.

mkcj

I take it your daughter receives either PIP or DLA and to receive Carer's allowance you have been providing 35 hours care.
Does your wife provide care also? Does she provide at least 20 hours if so she could claim Carer's credit. This does not provide any money but does provide a national insurance credit.
Quotes from the article:-
"Your application must be received before the end of the tax year following the tax year to which the credits relate. This means a claim for the 2015/16 tax year must be made by 5 April 2017."
You can go back one year – which means a claim made by 5 April 2017 could go back as far as beginning of the 2015/16 tax year. 
The year examples are quite old as the article is from 2016 but all the information is there:-

Eligible for carer's credit? You're putting your state pension at risk by not claiming (moneysavingexpert.com)

poppy12345

mkcj said:

I take it your daughter receives either PIP or DLA and to receive Carer's allowance you have been providing 35 hours care.
Does your wife provide care also? Does she provide at least 20 hours if so she could claim Carer's credit. This does not provide any money but does provide a national insurance credit.
Quotes from the article:-
"Your application must be received before the end of the tax year following the tax year to which the credits relate. This means a claim for the 2015/16 tax year must be made by 5 April 2017."
You can go back one year – which means a claim made by 5 April 2017 could go back as far as beginning of the 2015/16 tax year. 
The year examples are quite old as the article is from 2016 but all the information is there:-

Eligible for carer's credit? You're putting your state pension at risk by not claiming (moneysavingexpert.com)

Can someone claim carers credits as well as someone else claiming carers allowance? I totally understand they are different benefits but it doesn't sound right that 2 different people can claim for the same person. I'm sure others will know for certain.

mkcj

Carers Allowance and Carers Credit | Carers Support Centre

"My sister and I both care for mum now. Can we both claim carer’s allowance? 

Only one person can claim carer’s allowance for caring for someone. If you both meet the qualifying criteria, either one of you can claim. The other person caring could claim carers credit which would at least protect their state pension. You may qualify for carers credit if you look after one or more people for a total of 20 hours per week and the person you care for either gets a qualifying benefit or a health or social care professional agrees to fill in the “care certificate” section on the application form".

calcotti

Mkcj, that’s really useful information which I was not aware of. Thanks for posting.