Specified Adult Childcare credits – When grandparents do the childcare

Do you have children under 12? Are the children’s grandparents helping you out with childcare while you go back to work? Then the grandparents could be missing out on thousands of pounds from what is called Specified Adult Childcare Credit.

It can be a little confusing but I will try and explain as simply as possible.

There are estimated there are over 100,000 grandparents missing out on financial help because they don’t know about about this pension perk, less than 2000 grandparents in the UK are claiming this so I want to help spread the word.

Parents, usually mothers but can be fathers depending on who is the main carer, who sign up to Child Benefit automatically qualify for National Insurance credits that will count towards their state pension if they do not go back to work and earn their National Insurance credits that way.
However, the mothers who do go back to work with the help of grandparents doing the childcare, have the option to pass on these National Insurance credits to the grandparent who is looking after the children.

The grandparent must still be of working age and not already retired BUT they must NOT be in paid employment.

You can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits if:

• You are a grandparent, or other family member caring for a child under 12

• You were over 16, and under state pension age when you cared for the child

• You are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, meaning England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man

• The child’s parent (or main carer) is entitled to Child Benefit and has a qualifying year for National Insurance without needing the parent’s class 3 NI credits which they receive automatically from Child Benefit

• The child’s parent (or main carer) agrees to your application by countersigning the form to confirm that:

a) you cared for their child for the period stated

b) you can have the Class 3 NI credit for the period stated

You should not apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits if you:

• Already have a qualifying year of National Insurance – usually because you work or receive other NI credits

• Are receiving Child Benefit for the child – you already get Parent’s credits automatically

• Are the partner of, and live with, the Child Benefit recipient and you want to transfer the Parent’s credits from your spouse or partner to yourself – you apply to do this on form CF411A (HMRC website)

 See all the information on this here…