A supporter of financial expert Martin Lewis shared her experience of reclaiming over £31,000 from HMRC after acting on his guidance.
The individual, identified as Cilla and a reader of MoneySavingExpert.com, had been receiving an incorrect amount for her state pension over a 15-year period due to an oversight in National Insurance credits called Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP).
HRP was intended to lower the required number of qualifying years for the state pension. However, an investigation uncovered that numerous individuals, predominantly women who had taken breaks from employment to care for family, had not been credited with the appropriate level of HRP on their National Insurance records.
The issue stemmed from Child Benefit claims made before 2000, which did not include National Insurance numbers, leading to HRP not being applied correctly.
If you applied for Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000, you may have been affected by this oversight. Your National Insurance record determines the amount of state pension you will receive in the future.
Missing out on HRP could result in gaps in your National Insurance record, potentially reducing your entitlement to the full state pension amount.
HRP was replaced by National Insurance credits in 2010. Cilla shared her successful backpay claim of £31,674 with MoneySavingExpert.
HMRC has contacted 370,000 women regarding potential underpayments, with an average repayment of £7,859 per person so far. Between January 8 and September 30, 2024, HMRC identified 5,344 cases of underpayments totaling around £42 million.
Approximately 43,000 individuals affected by the error may have passed away, but their families can claim on their behalf. HMRC is prioritizing contacting individuals over pension age first.
If you suspect you may have missed out, check your state pension and National Insurance record. If there are gaps in your National Insurance contributions between 1978 and 2010 due to caring responsibilities, you might be missing HRP.
You can claim missing HRP through the online service on GOV.UK or by submitting a form to HMRC.
