Overview
- People who took time out to care between 1978 and 2010 may have missing Home Responsibilities Protection on their National Insurance records, leading to underpaid State Pension.
- A DWP/HMRC corrections exercise identified 12,379 underpayments to March 31, 2025, resulting in roughly £104 million of arrears with an average payout of £8,377.
- HMRC has issued more than 370,000 letters, largely to women, asking recipients to review eligibility and submit HRP claims if records are incomplete.
- The DWP estimates total underpayments at £300 million to £1.5 billion, while an accounting firm suggests many could receive around £5,000 each on average.
- Guidance urges checking pension forecasts and NI records on GOV.UK and submitting claims online or via form CF411, with no time limit for applying for missing HRP.