Answers · UK 2025/26
Can grandparents claim Specified Adult Childcare credits for looking after grandchildren?
Yes — grandparents (or other family members) who provide childcare for a grandchild under 12 while the child's parent claims Child Benefit and is working can apply for Specified Adult Childcare National Insurance credits, which transfer the equivalent of a Class 3 NI credit from the parent to the carer, helping the grandparent build qualifying years towards the State Pension.
Full answer
Specified Adult Childcare credits exist to recognise that many working parents rely on grandparents or other family members for childcare, and that this care can be just as valuable to the family's National Insurance record as the parent staying home themselves. Normally, a parent who claims Child Benefit for a child under 12 automatically receives National Insurance credits towards their State Pension for each week they are not otherwise earning enough NI credits through work — but if that parent is already working and earning enough NI credits of their own, those "spare" Child Benefit-linked credits would otherwise go unused. Specified Adult Childcare credits let the parent transfer this unused credit to the family member who is actually providing the childcare — commonly a grandparent, but the scheme covers any qualifying family member — so the carer builds up their own qualifying years towards the State Pension instead. To qualify: the child must be under 12 (under 17 if disabled) for the period claimed, the parent must have been entitled to Child Benefit for that child and not need the credit themselves, and the family member must have provided care for at least part of the relevant week. Applications are made via form CA9176 to HMRC, and crucially, claims can be backdated to when the credit scheme started (2011), so a grandparent who has provided years of childcare without realising this credit existed can potentially claim multiple years retrospectively, each one bringing them a full qualifying year closer to a full State Pension. Given each qualifying year adds roughly 1/35th of the full new State Pension, backdated claims can be worth a meaningful, permanent uplift to retirement income for grandparents who were not otherwise earning enough of their own NI credits during the years they were caring for grandchildren.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.