DWP EXTRA Financial BOOST to Women who had babies between 1980 and 2010: Check Eligibility Conditions

DWP EXTRA Financial BOOST to Women who had babies between 1980 and 2010: If you had children between 1978 and 2010 and claimed Child Benefit, you could be missing out on thousands of pounds from your State Pension. The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC have found errors in National Insurance (NI) records that are causing many women, especially mothers, to get less pension than they should.

Let’s explain what this issue is about and what you can do to check if you’re affected.

What Is Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP)?

Home Responsibilities Protection, or HRP, was a scheme meant to protect the pensions of people—mainly mothers—who stayed at home to care for children or sick family members. It ran from 6 April 1978 to 5 April 2010 and gave credits to your National Insurance record for the years you couldn’t work because you were caring for others.

This protection should have been added automatically if you claimed Child Benefit for a child under 16 or were receiving Income Support while caring for someone and unable to work.

In 2010, HRP was replaced by National Insurance credits under the new system.

What Went Wrong?

Before May 2000, you didn’t have to provide your National Insurance number to claim Child Benefit. Because of this, many HRP credits were never linked properly to NI records. That means thousands of people—mostly women—didn’t get the credits they deserved.

This mistake is now leading to lower State Pension payments for many.

How Big Is the Problem?

The DWP and HMRC say that hundreds of thousands of people might be affected. The total amount of underpaid pension could be more than £1.15 billion.

So far, only 419 cases have been fully checked and just £2.2 million in arrears have been paid. That’s just a small fraction of what’s expected.

The government says they are working hard to fix this. A special team has been set up, and they’re correcting records. They say they will finish by 2027-2028, and that back payments will be made as soon as possible—especially for vulnerable people.

What Should You Do?

If you were a parent between 1978 and 2010 and claimed Child Benefit, you should check your National Insurance record and your State Pension forecast. You can do this easily on the GOV.UK website.

Look for any missing NI years that you believe should be covered by HRP. If something looks wrong, you can contact HMRC to ask for a review.

Even if you’re not yet claiming your State Pension, it’s worth checking now. Fixing it early could boost your future pension by thousands of pounds.

What the Government Is Saying

The DWP has promised to correct these errors, even though they were caused by past governments. They say they are taking this issue seriously and working to fix it as quickly as they can.

They also said:

“We are fully committed to addressing these errors… We have set up a dedicated team and devoted significant resources.”

However, experts are worried about how slow the progress is. At the current rate, it may take a long time before all affected people get the money they’re owed.

This is a serious issue that could be affecting many women across the UK. If you were a stay-at-home parent or carer between 1978 and 2010 and claimed Child Benefit or Income Support, you might be entitled to more pension money than you are getting. Check your records online or reach out to HMRC to see if you’re affected.

Even if you are still years away from retirement, this check could protect your future pension. Don’t wait—check now, and you could receive thousands in missing payments or increase your future monthly income.

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