{"id":103679,"date":"2025-02-08T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=103679"},"modified":"2025-02-08T13:04:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T13:04:03","slug":"hmrc-urges-child-benefit-claimants-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/hmrc-urges-child-benefit-claimants-check\/","title":{"rendered":"HMRC Urges Child Benefit Claimants to Check Records as Thousands May Be Owed \u00a35,000"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Thousands of people who claimed <strong>Child Benefit<\/strong> before 2000 may have been affected by an administrative issue that could impact their <strong>State Pension<\/strong>. <strong>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)<\/strong> has issued a new alert, urging certain claimants to review their records, as some could be entitled to significant back payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Missing Pension Credits Due to Historical Oversight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before 2000, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/child-benefit-increase-struggling-families\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"100935\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Child Benefit<\/a> applications did not require a <strong>National Insurance (NI) number<\/strong>, meaning HRP credits were not always correctly recorded. <strong>HRP<\/strong> was <strong>a scheme <\/strong>that <strong>reduced <\/strong>the number of qualifying years needed for a full<strong> state pension<\/strong> for those who took time off work to care for children or disabled individuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2010, HRP was replaced by National Insurance credits, but discrepancies in historical records have persisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tax.service.gov.uk\/guidance\/Check-if-you-are-eligible-to-apply-for-Home-Responsibilities-Protection\/start\/about-this-guidance\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.tax.service.gov.uk\/guidance\/Check-if-you-are-eligible-to-apply-for-Home-Responsibilities-Protection\/start\/about-this-guidance\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HMRC<\/a> has acknowledged the issue and is actively working to identify those affected. <strong>More than 180,000 pensioners may have been underpaid<\/strong>, with an estimated <strong>43,000 of them having since passed away<\/strong>. In such cases, their families may still be able to claim the owed amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who Is Eligible to Claim Missing Credits?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Individuals who claimed <strong>Child Benefit before May 2000<\/strong> are urged to check their National Insurance records for missing HRP credits. To be eligible for a <strong>full year <\/strong>of <strong>HRP between 1978 <\/strong>and <strong>2010<\/strong>, the following criteria must be met :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The claimant must have received <strong>Child Benefit in their own name<\/strong> (not a spouse or partner&#8217;s name).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Their child must have been <strong>under 16 for the entire financial year<\/strong> in question.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They must not have been <strong>paying the married woman\u2019s \u201creduced stamp\u201d<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who reached <strong>State Pension age after April 5, 2010<\/strong>, should see their HRP credits listed as <strong>complete years<\/strong> on their National Insurance record. If credits are missing, it may indicate an underpayment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Check and Claim Missing Payments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>HMRC has provided an <strong>online eligibility checker<\/strong> on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tax.service.gov.uk\/guidance\/Check-if-you-are-eligible-to-apply-for-Home-Responsibilities-Protection\/start\/about-this-guidance?c=1\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.tax.service.gov.uk\/guidance\/Check-if-you-are-eligible-to-apply-for-Home-Responsibilities-Protection\/start\/about-this-guidance?c=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GOV.UK<\/a><\/strong>, allowing claimants to verify their entitlement and submit claims where applicable. Individuals who suspect they have been affected are advised to :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check their <strong>State Pension forecast<\/strong> and National Insurance record via GOV.UK.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the <strong>HRP eligibility checker<\/strong> to determine whether they qualify for backdated credits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Submit a claim through the government website or contact HMRC directly for further assistance.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The DWP and HMRC are <strong>proactively contacting those affected<\/strong>, but individuals are encouraged to <strong>check their own records<\/strong> to ensure they are not missing out on potential payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Government Response and Ongoing Efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This issue follows a broader review of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/tax-allowance-warning-pensioners-bills\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"102379\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">State Pension underpayments<\/a><\/strong>, which has impacted various groups, including <strong>widows, divorcees, and those who were wrongly denied pension increases<\/strong>. The government has pledged to correct errors and <strong>ensure that pensioners receive the entitlements they are due<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government plans to repay over <strong>\u00a31 billion<\/strong> to those affected by the issue, aiming to correct past <strong>mistakes<\/strong>. While efforts are in motion to resolve the situation, campaigners emphasize the need for greater <strong>transparency<\/strong> to prevent similar errors in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Individuals who suspect they might be <strong>impacted<\/strong> are encouraged to review their <strong>records<\/strong> and submit a <strong>claim<\/strong> promptly, as this could result in a notable increase in their pension entitlements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many long-time Child Benefit claimants may have missed out on an important entitlement without realizing it. A new HMRC alert urges them to check their records, as some could be due financial compensation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":103680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-welfare","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103679"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103681,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103679\/revisions\/103681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}