Missing Child Benefit credits and your State Pension

A practical guide for parents and carers who may have missed National Insurance credits by not claiming Child Benefit, and what the April 2027 delay could mean for their State Pension.

Did you decide not to claim Child Benefit because of the High Income Child Benefit Charge? If so, it may be worth taking another look. In some cases, that decision could affect your State Pension entitlement.

Some parents and carers were eligible for Child Benefit for a child under 12 from 7th January 2013 onwards, but did not make a claim. If you are in this position, a new HMRC service may allow you to fill gaps in your National Insurance record. This replacement credits service was supposed to launch in April 2026, but has now been delayed until April 2027.

Why Child Benefit NI credits matter

When you claim Child Benefit for a child under 12, you normally get National Insurance credits automatically. These credits help protect your National Insurance record and count towards your State Pension.

Crucially, you can make a Child Benefit claim even if you do not want to receive the payments. That can allow you to keep the other advantages, including National Insurance credits.

This is what may have caught out some higher-earning households. In some families, the High Income Child Benefit Charge led people to decide not to claim at all. However, there is an important difference between not claiming and claiming while opting out of the payments. If no claim was made, the parent or carer may have missed credits that would otherwise have helped protect their State Pension record.

Not everyone in this position will have a gap. If you were working and building up a qualifying year in another way, your State Pension position may already be secure. If you are unsure, check your National Insurance record before assuming you have lost out.

Significant value

For people who do have missing years, the value can be significant. Under the new State Pension system, one extra qualifying year can add about £358.50 a year at 2026/27 rates. The actual benefit depends on your wider National Insurance record and on whether that extra year improves your position.

People who reached State Pension age before 6th April 2016 fall under the older State Pension system, so the effect of extra credits is worked out differently. Eligible people in that group may still be able to claim replacement credits when the service opens, but the separate financial-loss route is aimed at people who reached State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016 and before 6th April 2027.

Who may be able to claim replacement credits?

The new service is aimed at parents and carers who were eligible to claim Child Benefit for a child under 12 from 7th January 2013, but did not make a claim.

When the government announced the measure, it said transitional arrangements would allow eligible people affected since 2013 to claim retrospectively. After that, applications will generally be limited to six years from the relevant tax year.

In practical terms, this means some parents and carers may still be able to recover Child Benefit National Insurance credits for earlier years, even if they never made the original claim.

What does the delay to April 2027 mean?

HMRC has confirmed that its replacement credits service won’t be launched until April 2027. It says the delay should not affect most eligible parents and carers. This is because they will still be able to apply once the service opens.

However, the delay could have a short-term effect on some people’s State Pension income. HMRC says those most likely to be affected are people who are already over State Pension age from 6th April 2016 onwards, or who will reach State Pension age before 6th April 2027.

For this group, missing credits may not be added in time to increase pension payments before the service goes live.

Can you report a financial loss?

In some cases, yes. HMRC says you can ask it to review your case if all of the following apply:

• You were eligible for Child Benefit at any time from 7th January 2013.
• You reached State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016 and before 6th April 2027.
• You believe the delay has directly reduced your State Pension payments.
• No one else has already claimed Child Benefit for the same child for the same dates, or already reported a financial loss for that period.

If HMRC agrees that the delay has caused a loss, it will calculate a one-off payment. This will reflect the impact on your State Pension from the date you contacted HMRC until 6th April 2027.

HMRC says it will make any payment from April 2027, when the replacement credits service opens. If you believe the delay has caused you a financial loss, you can ask HMRC to review your case through its complaints process. If you do, include the reference RCPC.

What should clients do now?

If you think Child Benefit National Insurance credits may be missing from your record, start by checking your National Insurance record. If you are not yet receiving your State Pension, you can also check your State Pension forecast through the government’s online services.

Please note that, if you are already getting your State Pension, or have deferred it, contact the Pension Service instead. This should help you establish whether you have a gap to fix and whether filling it is likely to improve your State Pension.

You can then look back at any periods when you were eligible for Child Benefit but did not claim it.

This issue is most urgent for people who have already reached State Pension age, or who will do so before 6th April 2027. For everyone else, the delay is more likely to be an administrative frustration than a financial problem. This is because they should still be able to apply once the service opens.

If you are not sure whether missing Child Benefit National Insurance credits could affect your State Pension, it is worth taking advice. For example, if you use THP’s tax planning services, this is just one factor that we’ll consider when reviewing your current and future financial situation.