Overview
- Specified Adult Childcare Credits let a Child Benefit recipient transfer a weekly National Insurance credit to an eligible family member who provided care for a child under 12 so the carer can build qualifying years for the State Pension.
- Quilter’s Freedom of Information data published this week shows 202,037 SACC applications from 2016/17 to 2024/25 and 159,116 approvals, giving an overall success rate of about 79 percent.
- Applications jumped from 29,967 in 2022/23 to 42,964 in 2023/24, a rise HMRC attributes to media coverage that increased public awareness of the scheme.
- A single successful credit typically adds about £350–£359 a year to a recipient’s State Pension, making SACCs a lower-cost way to fill National Insurance gaps compared with buying voluntary contributions.
- Confusing eligibility rules, strict timing and documentation requirements and a roughly one-in-five rejection rate have led experts to urge clearer public guidance and small administrative fixes, and the government plans a related record change from April 2027.