A historic state pension payment error means that thousands of Britons are significantly worse-off in retirement through no fault of their own. Those who took career breaks to look after children or disabled relatives between 1978 and 2010 may be losing out on substantial pension income.
The problem stems from missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) records, which should have safeguarded pension rights for unpaid carers during this 32-year period.
The Home Responsibilities Protection scheme operated as a safety net for those earning below the threshold for National Insurance contributions whilst caring for others. Rather than requiring additional years of contributions, HRP reduced the total number needed for a full pension.
For instance, someone requiring 30 years of contributions who spent five years caring for children would only need 25 years under the scheme. The system should have automatically applied to Child Benefit claimants.
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|A major state pension payment error could impact your retirement
However, administrative failures mean over 100,000 people now have National Insurance gaps that shouldn't exist. These missing protections are already causing reduced pension payments for some, whilst others face future shortfalls.
Those most likely to be impacted received Child Benefit between April 1978 and April 2010 while caring for children or disabled individuals. The errors particularly affect people who had breaks in employment during these decades to fulfil caring responsibilities.
Financial journalist Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website has previously raised the alarm about a major state pension issue that could affect hundreds of thousands of former carers across Britain.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) attempted to reach affected individuals by sending letters before the end of June 2025. Despite these efforts, many recipients failed to respond, possibly dismissing the correspondence as fraudulent or believing no action was necessary.
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GETTY | Pensioners are worried about their future Who was impacted by the state pension payment error?
Here is a full list of who is most likely to have been impacted by this major state pension payment error:
- Britons currently aged between 41 and 90, though women in their 60s and 70s are primarily affected
- Parents or carers who time away from paid work to look after a child or a person with a long-term disability or illness at any point between 1978 and 2010.
- Claimants of Child Benefit or Income Support for the first time before May 2000.
It should be noted that individuals may also have seen their state pension incomes slashed if their partner claimed Child Benefit, but they remained at home to look after a child or person with a long-term health condition at any point between 1978 and 2010.
Prior to 2000, HRP was only awarded to the mother unless she opted to transfer it to her partner. Anyone who did not include their National Insurance number on your claim.
How to check if you are missing state pension income
Britons are urged to take action the follow actions if they believe they are owed HRP credits:
- Check your state Pension forecast on the Gov.uk website, or you can call the Future Pension Centre
- If someone is not receiving the full payment, individuals should check National Insurance record for gaps on the Gov.uk website
- If there are gaps in someone's record during the years 1978 to 2010, they may now be able to apply for HRP if they meet the eligibility criteria.
PA | HMRC is responsible for the administration of HRP
Those who successfully claim could receive significant backdated payments, potentially worth thousands of pounds in corrected pension entitlements. The process remains open to all who meet the criteria, regardless of whether they received HMRC's initial notification.
A Government spokesperson said: "We have identified and are correcting an issue related to the historical recording of Home Responsibilities Protection on the National Insurance records for people who first claimed Child Benefit before May 2000.
"Our priority is ensuring everyone receives the financial support to which they are entitled and HMRC has begun writing to those likely affected by this issue. The state pension underpayment rate remains low at 0.4 per cent of expenditure."