State Pension mistake? Family allowance not taken into consideration.

Oh, it looks as though you could be in for a rise and a back pay bonus, Bikergran! You should have been credited with all the years in which you were in receipt of Child Benefit.

Fingers crossed for you - I’ve found that it can take forever to get through to the Pensions department (I once nodded off while I was waiting), but they’re really friendly and helpful when you do. In my experience there’s no point in writing or emailing, as it takes months to get an answer, if you get one at all.

You can set up a Government Gateway account and look at your National Insurance and tax records there, to check if they’re correct. I’ll post the link if I can find it.

"Biker" Thats well worth checking I hope they deal with it quickly for you they will send you a nice little bonus to treat yourself with.

This is the link, Bikergran.

www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

Hi Maggie yes I have Gov gateway, it does say some missing years, So deff going to look into it.

Hi Glamm

Good luck, bikergran, and enjoy your (earned) windfall when you get it! 🍾

You should get Home Responsibilities Protection as it's called (or was?) until your youngest child is 16 if you receive family allowance.
This provides the national insurance credit for those years towards your state pension.

A friend mistakenly thought it was until her youngest left school (at 18). She had to back-pay two years worth of contributions to maintain her full pension entitlement.

Wouldn't you think that just having your national insurance number would have automatically brought up the information on the child benefit years.
I hope it is sorted out speedily. And yes, actually talking to someone is the way to go.

bikergran, I hope it doesn't happen to you but when I discovered this had happened to me I had a series of communications with them thinking it was going to be simple. I have five children so there were little ones for all the missing years and gave them all possible info but still they would do nothing about it.

The reason was that they insisted that I needed to give them the actual child benefit numbers of my children - which I don't have.
I wrote elsewhere to try to obtain these numbers (as printed on the slips which you took to the post-office) and was told they don't keep them!

I went round in circles for about 2 years and gave up. I hope their processing has changed and you have more success. ...perhaps you have these 40 year old numbers somewhere anyway. I do hope so.
Good luck!
🍀

Please come back and tell us how you are getting on. 🤞

Not Spagetti gosh that must have infuriated you (of course I kept all my numbers, Not!whos doesn't} you couldn't make it up could you.

So as yet I am still waiting for a letter from Pensions (7/10 days) pigeon post.

or 6/12 mnths via Royal Mail. I won't hold my breath.

bikergran Would you be so kind as to let me know if they tell you you need the child benefit numbers and if so, if you find a way round not having them please?

I sent the children's NI numbers but that wouldn't do.
🙄

Also sent DoB info etc. BTW.

Fingers crossed for you, bikergran.

I had a letter from Pensions this week replying to one I sent them 15 months ago. With my letter I’d enclosed a form they’d sent directly to me to fill in - I’d completed it but sent a covering note to say I was pretty sure they’d sent me the wrong form, as most of the questions weren’t relevant to my situation.

Their reply was just to tell me I’d filled in the wrong form.

If you put “COMPLAINT” on the top of any correspondence they tend to jump and take notice! 😂

NotSpaghetti bit of a long shot but did you ever have your Child Benefit paid directly into your bank account?
If you have any old bank statements filed away there might be a reference number on them?
🤞🤞🤞

V3ra thank you.
Unfortunatelym no.
We opted for the post office when there was a choice.
Good idea though!

NotSpaghetti yes of course I will. As yet still waiting for the so called letter to arrive.

Of course I may be totaly wrong and not be entitled to full pension,but the reading at the bottom of the letter saying I told them I hadn't claimed family allowance has me puzzled.

We shall see.

Any news yet *bikergran?
Can't believe it's not joined-up in any way.

Has anyone else solved this problem I wonder?

Not a peep ! was told a letter would be with me in 7/10 days/I contacted them around the 15th Dec.

As I say probably pigeon post

Will check my gov, gateway account and see if any corrosponcence has been noted.

I thought that being in receipt of Family Allowance paid the NatIns of the person (whose name was on their file (not necessarily the stay at home parent) until that child reached a certain age. As with all govt things, I think that age changeds (from 12 to 6?).

If you do get 'backpay' it will all go on one financial year and so may increase your tax payments.

Good luck

It's not the "backpay" Chardy it's the NI.
We have nearly 5 years missing we are trying to remedy.

It was called
"Home Responsibility Payment" I think.

NotSpaghetti

It was called
"Home Responsibility Payment" I think.

Home Responsibilities Protection.
The child benefit payments up to your last child being 16 should be taken into account and your National Insurance record credited accordingly.

They only credit full tax years though.
I have two incomplete years on my N.I. record: my daughter was born at the end of April in 1981 and my last son was 16 in October 1984, so those two years don't count.

A friend thought it was until her son left school, at 18, and she had to make up two years N.I. contributions so she would get her full state pension.

V3ra

You should get Home Responsibilities Protection as it's called (or was?) until your youngest child is 16 if you receive family allowance.
This provides the national insurance credit for those years towards your state pension.

A friend mistakenly thought it was until her youngest left school (at 18). She had to back-pay two years worth of contributions to maintain her full pension entitlement.

A friend thought it was until her son left school, at 18, and she had to make up two years N.I. contributions so she would get her full state pension.

I think you could receive Child Benefit until the child was 18 or 19 and in full-time education (not Higher Education).
Perhaps that's where the confusion arose.

I was paying a full stamp again by the time the youngest was 6 so HRP didn't apply to me.

NotSpaghetti

It was called
"Home Responsibility Payment" I think.

Home Responsibilities Protection didn't start until 1978, as far as I remember and ended in April 2010.