What do I need to do?

• The Inland Revenue will automatically award Home Responsibilities Protection to the person who is receiving Child Benefit for a child under 16, so you do not need to claim. Home Responsibilities Protection will help protect your basic State Pension while your child is under 16, and you may build up State Second Pension while your child is under six.
• If you are caring for a child aged six or over who has a long-term illness or disability, and you do not get Carer’s Allowance, you may need to claim Home Responsibilities Protection to make sure that, as well as protecting your basic State Pension, you are also building up State Second Pension. See Home Responsibilities Protection for more details about Home Responsibilities Protection, how to claim it and the time limits that apply.
• If you are part of a couple, you should consider together who should be the person who claims Child Benefit to make sure that the person who needs their State Pension protecting most will get Home Responsibilities Protection. You can change this person if you think you need to. See Directory - Home Responsibilities Protection details about how to do this. You need to remember that someone has to be the person receiving Child Benefit for a full tax year to qualify for Home Responsibilities Protection, so you should think carefully about when to change the person who receives Child Benefit.
• In exceptional circumstances, if you have more than one child, it may be worthwhile for each of you to make a Child Benefit claim for different children. This would mean that both of you may qualify for Home Responsibilities Protection to protect your basic State Pension and may build up State Second Pension. But this will only benefit you if neither of you is building up entitlement to a State Pension through work or National Insurance credits. If you are not sure if this would help you, contact your nearest social security office or Jobcentre (details are in your phone book).

Sarah gives birth to her first child James on 1 December 2001. She gives up work to look after him and does not return to work until 7 January 2008. She receives Child Benefit for James during this time. For each full tax year, Sarah’s basic State Pension will be protected through Home Responsibilities Protection and she will also build up State Second Pension for each full tax year she was at home looking after James until his sixth birthday. This means she will qualify for State Second Pension for the five years from 6 April 2002 to 5 April 2007 – worth about £6 a week extra on her State Pension at today’s prices.

Sarah’s partner is made redundant two years later, on 31 January 2010. Sarah is still working and earning above the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit (£4,108 in 2004/05). Sarah and her partner may want to think about transferring the Child Benefit into his name so that he becomes the person who claims Child Benefit. It will not be worth doing this if he is getting a National Insurance credit to protect his basic State Pension while he is unemployed. But if he decides not to work and to stay at home to look after James, or if he starts a new job and does not earn enough in a tax year for it to count towards his basic State Pension (£4,108 in 2004/05) and he is likely to stay earning the same amount for a full tax year or longer, it will be worth transferring the Child Benefit into his name. He will need to do this before the start of the next tax year (6 April 2010). He will then get Home Responsibilities Protection to protect his basic State Pension – while Sarah pays National Insurance contributions towards her entitlement to a State Pension.