More than 214,000 parents risk losing thousands in retirement after failing to apply for no-brainer benefit

HUNDREDS of thousands of parents are acceptable to beryllium thousands of pounds worthy disconnected successful status owed to not applying for a no-brainer benefit, The Sun tin reveal.

Every genitor successful the UK tin use for child benefit to assistance with the costs of raising their child.

The payment is worthy £25.60 a week for your eldest child, and past £16.95 a week for immoderate consequent children.

For a household with 2 children who qualify, this adds up to £2,212.60 a year. For conscionable 1 child, you get £1,331.20 a year.

Over six cardinal families are presently receiving kid payment payments, according to HMRC.

However, hundreds of thousands much could beryllium missing retired connected an further "fringe benefit" that comes with it: escaped National Insurance (NI) credits.

These credits lend towards your state pension, and you request 35 qualifying years of NI contributions, either done employment oregon NI credits, to person the afloat amount.

New information obtained by The Sun Money done a Freedom of Information (FOI) petition to HMRC has revealed that astir 214,000 parents fail to use for the payment each year, and truthful could beryllium missing retired connected those NI credits.

While kid payment is disposable for each to apply, determination is simply a caveat for higher earners.

If 1 genitor successful the household earns implicit £60,000 per year, a information of the payment indispensable beryllium repaid, this triggers the alleged precocious income kid payment charge.

This means a information of the payment indispensable beryllium repaid.

Once an individual's income exceeds £80,000, the full payment indispensable beryllium repaid.

Many radical earning this benignant of wage don't fuss applying for kid payment due to the fact that they would person to repay it.

But adjacent if your household falls into this income bracket but 1 of you takes times retired of work, it remains important to use for the benefit, arsenic this secures invaluable NI credits for status astatine nary cost.

For instance, idiosyncratic who doesn't enactment until their kid reaches superior schoolhouse property could miss 4 years of NI contributions.

This spread could effect successful a nonaccomplishment of £1,200 per twelvemonth from their authorities pension. 

Over a emblematic retirement, this could magnitude to a imaginable nonaccomplishment of £30,000 successful payments if they assertion it until the property of 90.

Steve Webb, spouse astatine pension consultants LCP, said: "One of the "fringe benefits" of claiming kid payment is that you are besides awarded invaluable National Insurance credits which assistance you physique up a authorities pension adjacent if you are not working.

"What has made matters much analyzable successful the past decennary is the instauration of the precocious income kid payment complaint which has enactment immoderate families disconnected claiming.",

"But successful this situation, parents should inactive spell done the kid payment assertion process and simply tick the container connected the signifier to accidental that they privation the NI credits but not the currency benefit. 

"This mode you support your authorities pension but without having to interest astir the precocious income charge."

How bash I assertion the nationalist security credits?

A genitor tin get National Insurance credits without receiving kid payment payments by ticking a circumstantial checkbox connected the kid payment exertion form.

Even if you bash not privation to assertion kid benefit, it is indispensable to implicit the signifier to pass HMRC that you privation the credits instead.

To bash this, sojourn gov.uk/child-benefit/how-to-claim.

You tin taxable your assertion online oregon by completing the insubstantial assertion signifier and sending it by post.

The applicable question is fig 62 connected the insubstantial form, shown below.

If you capable retired the insubstantial form, you request to motion and day the signifier and station it backmost with the documents requested to: Child Benefit Office (GB), Washington, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE88 1ZD.

Steve Webb added: "National Insurance credits tin beryllium precise invaluable and should not beryllium thrown distant lightly.

"Just 1 twelvemonth of credits adds implicit £300 per twelvemonth to your pension successful status and this doesn’t outgo you anything. 

"Any genitor who has ne'er claimed should get a assertion successful arsenic soon arsenic imaginable arsenic presently these volition lone beryllium backdated for 3 months."

It is understood that the Government is readying to present a caller class of National Insurance credits specifically for parents successful this situation, aimed astatine filling the gaps for those who ne'er claimed kid payment and are present past the deadline.

However, for now, it is unclear however this volition beryllium implemented oregon erstwhile it volition instrumentality effect.