State pensioners may be able to boost payments by an eye-watering £3,600 a year, it has emerged. State pensioners may be able to claim National Insurance credit to boost their payments and have been urged to check if they can get National Insurance credit through Child Benefit.
Child Benefit is a regular payment from the government to help with the cost of raising a child. You can claim Child Benefit for each child you’re responsible for if they’re under 16 or under 20 and still in approved full-time education or training. In the 2023/24 tax year, you could get £24.00 a week for your first child or £15.90 a week for any more children.
Payments are tax-free as long as neither parent earns more than £50,000 a year. Since 2011, family members other than parents who are looking after children can get credits toward their National Insurance contributions. A person who is eligible for the credits since the 2011-12 tax year up until the previous one could get an extra £3,600 in state pension payments.
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To claim support, you could be a mother or father who does not live with the child or grandparent, great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent. A brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, step-brother, step-sister or an aunt or uncle can also be eligible for the support, it has been advises.
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at the group, said in a statement: “It’s no wonder that all this change means there’s a view, particularly among younger people, that the state pension is under threat. Given its importance as the foundation upon which we build the rest of our pension planning, we need to see real long-term thinking in this area with an overarching review to ensure it remains sustainable long-term and allows people to plan their retirement with confidence.”
It’s easy to check how many years of National Insurance contributions you have – and how much State Pension these might give you. You can also work out how many more years – if any – you need to get the full State Pension.
