UK. Pension warning for hundreds of thousands of carers
Hundreds of thousands of carers are unwittingly denying themselves a full state pension by failing to apply for carer’s credit.
Figures from a Freedom of Information request reveal just 17,388 people received carer’s credit at the end of 2018.
But according to government figures, around 200,000 carers are eligible – and most are women.
If a carer fails to claim for carer’s credit, they could get less state pension in the future because these credits help plug gaps in their National Insurance record, which is used to determine how much state pension they get.
To qualify in full for the state pension, retirees need to have made 35 years’ worth of National Insurance contributions.
Wealth management firm Quilter, which submitted the FOI, said these credits could be worth £244 a year in retirement, or £1,220 over five years.
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