July 14, 2025: A significant number of parents and carers who claimed child benefit before the year 2000 have been left without the National Insurance (NI) credits they were rightfully entitled to, due to systemic errors in the UK’s pension system. These missing credits could have substantially boosted their State Pension amounts.
The National Insurance credits are crucial for ensuring that individuals who took time off work to care for children or others do not suffer a reduction in their pension entitlements. However, a glitch in the administration has meant that many people’s records failed to reflect these credits, potentially leaving them millions of pounds short.
In some cases, affected individuals could be owed as much as £4,500 per year extra in their State Pension. This shortfall not only impacts financial security for many retirees but also highlights flaws in the way pension records were historically managed.
Experts are urging the government to carry out a thorough review and correction of records, and to ensure that all eligible parents and carers receive the credits they deserve. Pensioners and soon-to-be retirees are advised to check their National Insurance records and seek assistance if discrepancies are found.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has acknowledged the issue and is reportedly working on rectifying the errors, but the scale of the problem remains uncertain.
This situation underscores the importance of accurate record-keeping in public benefit systems and raises concerns about how many others might be similarly affected.