Older people providing care during term-time or school holidays for children under the age of 12 may be able to earn an increase in State Pension.

The boost is linked to the fact that people providing childcare rather than working could be entitled to claim a National Insurance credit.

Most people are aware that mothers looking after children, rather than working, can claim NI credits for these years which then count towards the state pension.

However, few are aware that older people – who have not yet reached state pension age – can have the NI credits transferred to them.

Each year of NI credit currently adds around £303 a year to the full, New State Pension. Over a typical 20-year retirement this adds up to more than £6,000.

This top up regime is known as Specified Adult Childcare and works by transferring the NI attached to Child Benefit from a child’s parents to another family member who is providing care for a related child under 12 – or 17 if they have a disability.

You will receive a Class 3 National Insurance credit for each week or part week you provided care for the child. There is only one credit available for each Child Benefit claim, regardless of the number of children being cared for.

This means that if two grandparents – under state retirement age – provided care for their daughter’s two children, there is only one credit available for transfer and only one person receives it.

If the grandparents also have a son and they provide care for his child too, this would create two credits that can be transferred.

If no one has claimed Child Benefit for the child there is no attached NI credit to transfer.

Essentially the boost is only available for looking after children whose parents are working, so they don’t need the National Insurance credits from claiming Child Benefit to go towards their own state pension.

Significantly, people can put in a retrospective claim for Specified Adult Childcare going back to April 6, 2011.

The full, New State Pension is now worth £221.20 per week, equivalent to £11,502 each year, but to receive that maximum amount you need around 35 years’ worth of National Insurance contributions. You need at least 10 years to receive any payment at all.

Who can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits?

You can apply as long as:

you are an eligible family member who provided care for a child under 12

you were over 16 and under State Pension age when you provided care for the child

you are ordinarily resident in the UK but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man

the child’s parent (or main carer) has claimed Child Benefit but does not need the credits themselves

The child’s parent (or main carer) agrees to your application by counter-signing the form to confirm that you:

provided care for their child for the period stated

can have the credits for the period stated

Who counts as an eligible family member?

You are classed as an eligible family member if you are the:

mother or father who does not live with the child

grandparent, great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent

brother or sister – including a half-brother or half-sister, step-brother or step-sister, an adopted brother or an adopted sister, aunt or uncle

You are also classed as an eligible family member if you are either the:

current or previous husband, wife, partner or civil partner of anyone in the list above

son or daughter of the current or previous husband, wife, partner or civil partner of anyone in the list above

Who should not apply?

You should not apply for credits if for the same period you:

already have a qualifying year of National Insurance – usually because you work or receive other National Insurance credits

are receiving Child Benefit for any child and already get credits automatically

If you are the spouse or partner living with the Child Benefit recipient and want to transfer the credits to yourself, you need to complete form CF411A – more details here.

When to apply

You must wait until October 31 after the end of the tax year you want to apply for. This means you can claim for the financial years 2011/12 – 2022/23 now and October 31 for the 2023/24 tax year.

This is because HMRC needs to check that the parent or main carer already has a qualifying year for National Insurance purposes.

What you need to apply

To complete an application form, you will need:

your personal details as the eligible family member that provided care for the child

the child’s details and the periods you provided care for them

the personal details of the child’s parent or main carer – the Child Benefit recipient

The HMRC guidance explains that both you and the Child Benefit recipient must sign a declaration on the application form.

It also says that the child’s parent or main carer should check their National Insurance record online before you apply, to check that they have credits to transfer.

Full details on how to apply can be found on the GOV.UK website here.