If you are getting Child Benefit

If you are receiving National Insurance credits (see How do I build up entitlement to the basic State Pension if I am not working? for some of the benefits that give you National Insurance credits), your basic State Pension is being protected automatically. In some circumstances, you may also be building up entitlement to additional State Pension through the State Second Pension.

If you are not receiving National Insurance credits, your basic State Pension can still be protected if you:

• are looking after a child aged under 16; and
• are not in paid work, or do not earn enough in a tax year for it to count towards basic State Pension (below £4,108 in 2004/05); and
• are the person who has claimed and was awarded Child Benefit for that child.

If you get Child Benefit for a child under 16, you may qualify for Home Responsibilities Protection, which protects your basic State Pension. For an explanation of Home Responsibilities Protection, please see Home Responsibilities Protection. If you are the person who receives Child Benefit for a child under six, you will also build up State Second Pension through Home Responsibilities Protection, meaning you get additional State Pension when you reach State Pension age.

Only the person who is receiving the Child Benefit will get Home Responsibilities Protection automatically. If your name is first on a Child Benefit order book or is shown at the top of any letter from the Child Benefit Office, you are the person who is receiving Child Benefit.

If your child is aged six or over but has a long-term illness or disability, you may also build up State Second Pension. See 'What do I need to do?' for special rules about this, as you may need to make a claim for Home Responsibilities Protection. Also see ‘If you are looking after someone who has a long-term illness or disability’.