“If you’re earning national insurance in your own right, you can pass on the credit to a parent if needed. It is a simple process, but the Child Benefit needs to be claimed, although a tick of a box means no payment will be made and so no tax charge will be incurred.”
For those not eligible for the Specified Adult Childcare Credits, Ms Trorr said there are also other ways to top up a state pension, such as regular payments or purchasing missing years, which is currently possible back to 2006.”
She added: “The state pension is good value and shouldn’t be dismissed.“
Britons have a small window to apply for shortfalls dating back as far as 2006, as from July 31 this year, people will only be able to make up contributions from the past six tax years.
People who are not currently at state pension age can check to see if there are any gaps in contributions by logging onto the state pension forecast calculator, which can be accessed through their Government Gateway.
