What is Home Responsibilities Protection?

Home Responsibilities Protection helps to protect the basic State Pension position of carers. You might get Home Responsibilities Protection if you are not working, or your work is low-paid, and you are looking after:

• a child under 16;
• a person with a long-term illness; or
• a person with a disability.

You may also be able to get it if you are a registered foster carer.

Home Responsibilities Protection can reduce the number of qualifying years you need to earn a full basic State Pension. However, to get the full basic State Pension, you will need at least 20 qualifying years on top of any years you were covered by Home Responsibilities Protection.

What is Home Responsibilities Protection?

So, for example, with Home Responsibilities Protection a woman could get a full basic State Pension after caring for a child or relative for a total of 19 years and paying full-rate National Insurance contributions for a total of 20 years.

Both the number of qualifying years which a woman needs for a full basic state pension and the number of years of Home Responsibilities Protection which can be taken into account will start to increase from April 2010. This is when women’s state pension age begins to be increased.

By 6 April 2020, when the State Pension age for both men and women will be 65, you will need at least 22 qualifying years with 22 years covered by Home Responsibilities Protection.

If you want to know more about Home Responsibilities Protection, please see State pensions for carers and parents – Your guide (PM9). See the directory for details about how you can get a copy of this guide.