State pensioners are being urged to check their post as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues contacting people who may have been underpaid because of missing National Insurance credits.
The issue relates to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a scheme that helped protect the National Insurance records of people who took time away from work to raise children or care for someone with a long-term disability.
The DWP says people affected by the historical error have received an average of around £8,000 in back payments. More than £100 million has already been paid in arrears.
A second round of letters is now being sent to people who may still need to check their records and make a claim.
Error
Home Responsibilities Protection was designed to help people maintain their National Insurance records during periods when they were caring for children or someone with a long-term disability.
For some parents and carers, particularly women who spent years outside paid employment while raising children, HRP could help protect their eventual State Pension entitlement.
However, some eligible HRP periods were not correctly recorded on National Insurance records.
When the credits were missing, a person’s contribution history could appear incomplete. Depending on their circumstances, that could affect the amount of State Pension they were entitled to receive.
The problem was identified as a historical administrative issue rather than a change to the State Pension rules.
Letters
HMRC and the DWP initially contacted around 340,000 people during 2023 and 2024 who could potentially have been affected.
Officials are now sending follow-up letters to approximately 311,000 people.
The letters are intended to remind recipients to check whether they are entitled to have missing HRP periods added to their National Insurance records.
The DWP says the letters are due to be issued by the end of March 2027.
Recipients will not need to find a separate claim form. The new letters include a paper form that can be completed and returned by post.
That is intended to make the process more straightforward for people who may not be comfortable using an online service.
£8,000
The average back payment for people who have already been found to be affected is around £8,000.
However, this figure should not be treated as a payment that every person receiving a letter will receive.
The amount depends on an individual’s National Insurance history, the periods of missing HRP, their State Pension entitlement and whether the missing credits actually affected their pension.
Some people may discover that adding HRP makes no difference to their State Pension because they already have enough qualifying years through employment or other credits.
Others could be entitled to an increase in their pension and potentially arrears covering previous years.
More than £100 million has already been paid in arrears to people affected by the issue.
Checker
People do not necessarily have to wait for a letter before checking whether they could be affected.
HMRC provides an online HRP eligibility checker for people who want to establish whether their circumstances could qualify.
The checker is particularly relevant to people who received Child Benefit in the past but may not have been working or paying enough National Insurance contributions during some of that period.
The historical HRP rules were later replaced by National Insurance credits for parents and carers, so the relevant dates and circumstances matter when determining eligibility.
Records
Checking a National Insurance record can help people understand whether there are gaps that could affect their State Pension.
However, a gap does not automatically mean money is owed.
A person may already have enough qualifying years to receive their full State Pension entitlement. In that situation, adding missing HRP may not result in an additional payment.
The effect can also depend on when the person reached State Pension age and which State Pension rules applied to them.
People should therefore avoid assuming that a missing entry automatically means they will receive a large back payment.
Claim
For people who receive a follow-up letter, the simplest route is to read the instructions carefully and return the included form if they believe they may be eligible.
The DWP and HMRC are using the correspondence to identify people whose records may need correcting.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s chief customer officer, said including the claim form with the letter was intended to make it easier for people to respond and find out whether their State Pension entitlement could increase or whether they could be owed a payment.
Anyone who is unsure about a letter should use official government contact details rather than relying on telephone numbers or links supplied by an unknown third party.
Check
The HRP issue is particularly relevant to people who spent periods away from paid work while looking after children.
Parents and carers should consider checking their historic National Insurance records if they believe they may have been entitled to HRP.
The fact that someone did not receive a letter does not necessarily establish that their record is correct. Equally, receiving a letter does not mean that a payment is guaranteed.
The outcome depends on the individual’s record and the rules that applied to their circumstances.
For those who are affected, correcting the National Insurance record can potentially increase their State Pension and result in arrears. The average payment of around £8,000 shows the potential scale of some cases, but individual outcomes can be substantially different.
With follow-up letters scheduled to be issued through March 2027, people who receive one should check the details, complete the form if appropriate and keep copies of anything they send.
