Thousands of people in the UK could be owed money due to a government pension mistake that lasted for decades. Experts say some parents may be missing money from their state pension because of an issue linked to childcare years.
The problem is connected to something called Home Responsibilities Protection, which was designed to protect the pensions of people who stayed home to raise children or care for someone sick or disabled. This system was supposed to make sure they did not lose pension benefits for not working during those years.
However, many people were not properly credited, which means their National Insurance records were incomplete. Because of this, some retirees may have been underpaid their state pension for years without realizing it.
The issue mainly affects people who claimed child benefit for children under 16 between 1978 and 2010. In some cases, the child benefit was registered under one parent, meaning the other parent missed out on pension credits.
Financial experts say some people could be owed thousands of pounds, with some cases reportedly reaching tens of thousands in back payments. In addition, some people may also see their weekly pension payments increase after the correction.
The UK government launched a correction program to fix the issue and help affected people claim the money they are owed. Officials believe a large number of people may still not realize they are eligible.
Anyone who had children during that period or cared for someone while claiming certain benefits is being encouraged to check their eligibility and review their National Insurance records.
Experts say this could make a significant difference to retirement income for many families who were unknowingly underpaid for years.
