A consultation on changes to national insurance credits could benefit around 250,000 grandparents who have given up work to care for their grandchildren.
The consultation, which was launched by the government on Friday, could bring an end to working-age Grandparents missing out on the basic state
pension from April 2011.
Currently, such grandparents can miss out on a
pension if they stop working before accruing sufficient national insurance credits to obtain a full basic state
pension. As of April this year, 30 years of NI contributions have been required to qualify for the full
pension.
But, according to the Department for Work and
Pensions, people become grandparents for the first time at 49 and often give up work to provide childcare.
The proposed credits, aimed at anyone who is providing care for a grandchild under the age of 12, will be added to their national insurance contributions record and count towards their basic state
pension.
Minister for
Pensions Steve Webb said, "I have supported the idea of a Grandparents' Credit for many years. For too long the vital childcare that grandparents provide so that parents can work has been overlooked by the system.
"It is about time that we protect the
pension rights of grandparents, many who are in their early 50s and giving up work early to provide vital childcare. Parents of children under 12 and carers receive a credit towards their basic state
pension so it makes sense to extend this to grandparents of working age too," he added.
The consultation runs until 26 November 2010.
Financial News
