Retrospectively claiming NI credits

Hi Adele,
If your husband does not need the protection from the Home Responsibilities Protection then it may be possible to transfer this over to you.  
To do this please complete our form CF411 which you may obtain via Apply for Home Responsibilities Protection
Thank you.

Hi Louise,
Unfortunately we cannot give a response on a future government decision.
The customers who are wanting to claiming missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) or Class 3 National Insurance credits for parents and carers (CPC) must:
HRP

• form CF411 needs to be completed to claim HRP
• they can access this form via our website www.gov.uk searching ‘Home Responsibilities Protection’
• to use the online form service or postal form CF411
• if an HRP award leads to a State pension arrears payment or increase in State Pension entitlement then this could impact the amount of tax they have to pay, or other benefits, for example, Pension Credit

CPC

Fill in and send us form CF411A – Application form for Credits for Parents and Carers they can

• complete the form through their personal tax account (PTA)
• download this form by accessing our website www.gov.uk and searching for CF411A

Thank you.
 

Has there been any further update on this for those of us who did not claim due to spouse being higher earner? If I am able to retrospectively claim, there is no need for me to make any voluntary payments before 5 April. I have written to my MP for confirmation of the position and am awaiting a response which I hope will be useful. In the meantime, I wondered whether anyone had had any joy with getting any answers?

I'm in the same boat, very difficult to understand what to do with regards to paying the full amount to fill the gaps when we should be receiving these NI credits.

Is there somewhere I need to register to ensure that if the policy outlined in https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-simplification-update-january-2024/tax-simplification-update-january-2024 happens then any payment that I make to fill the NI gaps (missing years) will be refunded back to me? I am in the unfortunate position when, like many others in this forum I am being asked to pay for my missing years to increase my pension by April 2025 but the policy to amend those gaps for people who were responsible for childcare will only be done retrospectively in April 2026! Please clarify, thank you.

Hi,
If you pay Class 3 NICs and are then subsequently awarded NI credits which negate the need to have paid Class 3 NICs, you can apply for the Class 3 NICs to be refunded.
Thank you.

My pension forecast shows that I have no missing years where I need to make top up contributions, but for 7 years I was a stay at home parent by choice, claiming no benefits. These years show that I have NI credits and are full years. Is this correct? All the information online states that you only get credits if you're claiming benefits.

Is the scheme outlined in "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-simplification-update-january-2024/tax-simplification-update-january-2024" CONFIRMED as actually going to happen? Similar to many others on this forum, my partner did not claim Child Benefit when we had our first child in 2015 because my salary meant we would not receive any net payment, this continued when we had our second child in 2022. It has just been realised that she will have missing NI credits for those years, when although not entitled to any CB payment, she has been entitled to the NI credits but has not claimed them. It is this April 2025 deadline that brings it to a head, as I don't want to have to pay for 10 years of missing Class 3 NICs now and then find out that if the scheme to backfill missed NI Credit entitlement happens, they say there are no NI credit gaps to fill and reject any claims. Don't know what to do, if we wait until April 2026 and this Government cancels the intended plan, we'll be left with my partner having vastly reduced pension despite us being fully paid up between us simply because my partner didn't claim for Child Benefit that she wasn't going to receive...

I have another question please; MY partner would like to check her NI credits/gaps but has been unable to login to Government Gateway as she has no valid passport or driving license. She has tried a number of times including the security questions and bank account route, but has never been successfully able to log on; how can she get a Government Gateway account setup/confirmed please?

Hi Claire, 
Most ‘stay at home parents’ will claim Child Benefit (previously called Family Allowance) and due to this will receive a credit to cover any gaps that would otherwise normally be on the record. 
The only way to check if you have any of these credits on your record would be to check your National Insurance record online via your Personal Tax Account or to call the National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500.
Thank you. 

 

Hi there I have a gap in my NI record because I quite my job in order to home-educate my 2 young children (4 & 8) at home during the covid pandemic. This was because schools were shut and the at-home provision was skeletal. I did not claim any benefits and we were not able to claim child benefit due to my partners income. Should I be eligible for NI credit? Please advise, thank you

Hi TaxpayerSi,
This has not yet been confirmed.
If Class 3 NICs are paid and at a later stage NI credits are awarded to the same year, we will consider requests for a refund of Class 3 NICs paid incorrectly.
To access and use many of HMRC's online services customers may have to verify their identity online.
Not everyone will be able to verify immediately as the service is in development and limited to questions about pay and tax from employment, Self Assessment, tax credit details, passport information and UK credit reference data, UK driving licence information and Northern Ireland driving licence information.
If trying to set up a Government Gateway account using UK credit reference data you will be asked three or four credit record questions. For example: 
when was the last time you took out a mobile phone contract
which company provided the mortgage you took out in (month/year)The customer will be asked to select the correct answer from a list of options provided.
If there is insufficient data on the credit record, you will see the message 'We cannot confirm your identity'.
 If this is the case, your partner will need to call the NI helpline on 0300 200 3500 and ask for a statement of their NI record. Lines are open 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday.
Thank you.

 

Hi Louisa Spencer,
The only credits available would be those through receiving Child Benefit for a child under the age of 12 years old. Other than that, you would need to make a Voluntary Contribution to fill these gaps. 
To enquire about making payments of Voluntary Contributions, please contact our National Insurance team.
National Insurance: general enquiries
Or you can use the webchat function ‘ask HMRC online’
You can also write in to:
PT Operations North East England,
HM Revenue and Customs,
BX9 1AN,
When submitting your correspondence, kindly provide your National Insurance Number, full name, current address, a contact telephone number, and a brief explanation of the purpose of your letter. Additionally, please remember to sign and date the document, even if it is printed.
Though you may not have been in receipt of Child Benefit payments you should check to see if you should have been in receipt of the credits. You can apply through the form CF411a, however if your children were over the age of 12 during this period you will not be eligible for credits.
Thank you.