State pensions for carers and parents – Your guide

Everyone needs to plan ahead for retirement. People are living longer and healthier lives, so it is even more important to think about how and when to save for retirement and how long to work.

You may also want to consider any second pension you have or may need. For information on pension planning, see A guide to your pension options (PM1). See Other guides in the series for details about how to get a copy of this guide.

Throughout this guide we refer to the ‘tax year’. By this we mean 6 April to 5 April the following year. For example, the tax year 2004/05 runs from 6 April 2004 to 5 April 2005.

This leaflet is for you if:

• you are looking after a child under the age of 16; and
• you are not in paid work, or do not earn enough in a tax year for it to count towards the State Pension (below £4,108 in 2004/05); and
• you or your partner get Child Benefit.

This leaflet is also for you if:

• you are looking after someone who has a long-term illness or disability (including a child aged six or over); and
• you are not in paid work, or do not earn enough in a tax year for it to count towards the basic State Pension (below £4,108 in 2004/05); or
• from April 2003, you are a registered foster carer throughout a full tax year and are not receiving Child Benefit and are not in paid work, or do not earn enough in a tax year for it to count towards the basic State Pension (below £4,108 in 2004/05).

This leaflet gives you information on:

• the basic State Pension;
• the additional State Pension (State Second Pension since April 2002);
• how some benefits and Home Responsibilities Protection can help you protect your basic State Pension and build up your State Second Pension between now and State Pension age; and
• whether you need to claim, how to claim and where to get more information.