How grandparents could boost their state pension by £300 a year

More than 123,000 grandparents have successfully increased their state pension by over £300 a year – or an estimated £6,000 over the course of a typical retirement - by applying for Specified Adult Childcare Credits (SACC). This initiative, introduced by the government in 2011, aims to support those who have taken on childcare responsibilities for family members under 12 years old.

How it works

When a child’s parent or primary carer is employed or self-employed and already paying national insurance (NI) contributions, they may not need the additional credits from child benefit claims.

These ‘extra’ credits can be transferred to the child’s caregiver, typically a grandparent, potentially boosting their state pension by £328 annually. There is no minimum number of hours required for childcare to qualify for these credits.

So if you’re taking on childcare responsibilities, you may well be entitled to SACC.

Do I qualify?

The numbers of people applying for the credit have been steadily climbing over the years. On average, over 19,000 people apply for these credits, and around 15,400 applications prove successful each year, so it’s definitely worth looking into.

Two of the main reasons that SACC applications are rejected are because the applicant already has a qualifying year of national insurance – usually because they work or receive other NI credits, or they are receiving child benefit for the child – in that case, they will already get the parent's NI credits automatically.

How to claim

For more information on how to apply visit the HMRC website. Keep in mind that applications for a specific tax year can only be submitted after 31 October of the following tax year.