Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP)

squidlydiddly2

My wife who is 75 has suggested I post this question because me, being nearly 80 and confused about whether or not she is entitled to receive Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) the latest pension payments blunder, cannot give her a qualified answer.
Born in 1948 her records show that she gained only 27 of the 39 full years of ni contributions she needed for a full pension. She gained 11 full years until stopping work in 1975 when our son was born and only returned to a full year in 1990, finally retiring early in 2006 rather than at 65 in 2013.
Neither of us can remember when, or indeed if, we claimed child benefit although we must have done but we have no records.
I have read that HRP may be available to fill full tax years from 6 April 1978 to 5 April 2010 and can help protect your State Pension position if you:
• did not work at all
• worked but did not earn enough in a tax year to make the year count for State
Pension purposes and awarded Child Benefit for a child under the age of 16.
Do we need to prove the dates we would have claimed child benefit if so how can we do that, and is she eligible as she stopped work in 1975?
Many thanks

Marcon

squidlydiddly2 said:

My wife who is 75 has suggested I post this question because me, being nearly 80 and confused about whether or not she is entitled to receive Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) the latest pension payments blunder, cannot give her a qualified answer.
Born in 1948 her records show that she gained only 27 of the 39 full years of ni contributions she needed for a full pension. She gained 11 full years until stopping work in 1975 when our son was born and only returned to a full year in 1990, finally retiring early in 2006 rather than at 65 in 2013.
Neither of us can remember when, or indeed if, we claimed child benefit although we must have done but we have no records.
I have read that HRP may be available to fill full tax years from 6 April 1978 to 5 April 2010 and can help protect your State Pension position if you:
• did not work at all
• worked but did not earn enough in a tax year to make the year count for State
Pension purposes and awarded Child Benefit for a child under the age of 16.
Do we need to prove the dates we would have claimed child benefit if so how can we do that, and is she eligible as she stopped work in 1975?
Many thanks

Have you actually applied and had your application rejected? If not, try https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-home-responsibilities-protection

jem16

Did your wife choose to pay the Married Woman’s small stamp? If she did then she would not be entitled to HRP for any year that election was in place. 

xylophone

https://www.gov.uk/home-responsibilities-protection-hrp

Your wife would have reached SPA in 2008 at the age of 60.

Are you saying that she receives only around 70% of a full Basic State Pension?

HRP acted as a "reducer" rather than a credit.

https://www.gov.uk/home-responsibilities-protection-hrp/what-youll-get#:~:text=Home Responsibilities Protection ( HRP ) reduced,a man 44 qualifying years.

Re "married woman's stamp", see https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-12444931/Married-womens-stamp-state-pension.html

You say that she ceased work outside the home in 1975 when your son was born - it may well be that she did not have the option to pay MWS when she returned to work.

jem16

xylophone said:

Re "married woman's stamp", see https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-12444931/Married-womens-stamp-state-pension.html

You say that she ceased work outside the home in 1975 when your son was born - it may well be that she did not have the option to pay MWS when she returned to work.

If it was in place before she stopped work it would have continued until she chose to revoke it.