National Insurance Credits for Carers 2026: Protecting Your State Pension
Carer's Credit and other NI credits fill gaps in your National Insurance record while you're caring for someone, protecting your qualifying years for the State Pension without paying Class 3 contributions.
Why NI credits for carers matter
The new State Pension requires 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits for the full amount, and at least 10 qualifying years for any State Pension at all. Someone who steps back from paid work to care for a family member, friend, or neighbour can otherwise build gaps in their NI record that permanently reduce their eventual State Pension โ unless those years are protected by a credit.
State Pension Forecast Calculator
Forecast your UK State Pension based on qualifying NI years and model the impact of filling gap years with voluntary Class 3.
Open State Pension Forecast calculatorCarer's Credit โ the main route
Carer's Credit is a National Insurance credit (not a cash benefit) available to carers who don't otherwise qualify for Carer's Allowance โ commonly because they care for someone for fewer than 35 hours a week (the Carer's Allowance threshold) but at least 20 hours a week, or because their earnings are too high for Carer's Allowance.
Qualifying conditions
| Condition | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Caring hours | At least 20 hours a week caring for one or more people |
| Age | Must be under State Pension age |
| Person cared for | Must generally receive a qualifying disability benefit, or a Care Certificate is completed by a health/social care professional |
Qualifying benefits for the person you care for
- Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (middle or highest rate care component)
- Personal Independence Payment (daily living component, either rate)
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
If the person you care for doesn't receive one of these, you can still potentially get Carer's Credit by having a Carer's Credit Care Certificate signed by a GP, nurse, or relevant social care professional confirming the level of care provided.
Automatic credits via Carer's Allowance
If you already receive Carer's Allowance (paying at least 35 hours a week of care for someone on a qualifying disability benefit, subject to the earnings limit), you receive Class 1 National Insurance credits automatically for each week of entitlement โ there's no need to make a separate Carer's Credit claim, as the two systems are linked.
Other NI credit routes relevant to carers
| Credit type | Who it's for |
|---|---|
| Home Responsibilities Protection (pre-2010) / Class 3 credits for parents | Historic scheme, now replaced but may still show on older NI records |
| Child Benefit NI credits | Automatically applied to the Child Benefit claimant for each week they receive Child Benefit for a child under 12 |
| Specified Adult Childcare credits | Available to grandparents or other family members who care for a child under 12 while the parent (who claims Child Benefit) is working โ effectively transferring the NI credit |
| Universal Credit / Jobseeker's Allowance NI credits | Automatically applied while claiming certain other benefits |
How to check and claim
- Get a State Pension forecast via gov.uk to see your current qualifying years and any gaps.
- If you have gaps that coincide with a period of caring, check whether Carer's Credit (or automatic credits via Carer's Allowance) should have applied.
- Apply for Carer's Credit directly via gov.uk if you weren't claiming Carer's Allowance during the relevant period โ claims can often be made for earlier tax years, not just the current one.
- If a family member helped care for your child while you worked, consider Specified Adult Childcare credits to transfer NI credit to them.
National Insurance Calculator
Calculate your National Insurance contributions for 2025/26.
Open National Insurance calculatorWhat NOT to assume
- Don't assume caring automatically shows up on your NI record โ Carer's Credit (unlike Carer's Allowance credits) requires an active application.
- Don't assume you're ineligible just because your own income is above a certain level โ Carer's Credit has no earnings test, unlike Carer's Allowance.
- Don't leave it too long to check โ while claims can often be backdated, verifying and correcting your NI record is easier the sooner you act.
Use the State Pension forecast guidance alongside your gov.uk forecast to see exactly how caring years affect your eventual pension.
Frequently asked questions
What is Carer's Credit?
Carer's Credit is a National Insurance credit that gives you a qualifying year towards your State Pension for any tax year in which you spend at least 20 hours a week caring for someone, without you needing to actually pay Class 3 National Insurance contributions.
Do I automatically get NI credits if I receive Carer's Allowance?
Yes. If you receive Carer's Allowance, you automatically get a Class 1 National Insurance credit for each week you're entitled to it โ you don't need to separately apply for Carer's Credit.
How many hours of caring do I need for Carer's Credit?
You need to care for one or more people for at least 20 hours a week in total. This can be a combination of different people you care for, and doesn't require you to receive any benefit yourself.
Does the person I care for need to receive a particular benefit?
Yes, generally the person you care for should be receiving a qualifying disability benefit such as Attendance Allowance, the middle or highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, the daily living component of PIP, or Constant Attendance Allowance. If they don't receive a qualifying benefit, a Care Certificate can be completed instead by a health or social care professional.
Can I claim Carer's Credit alongside working part-time?
Yes. Carer's Credit is not means-tested and doesn't depend on your income โ you can work part-time (or even full-time, if your caring hours are separately at least 20 a week) and still claim the credit, unlike Carer's Allowance which has an earnings limit.
How far back can I claim Carer's Credit?
You can claim Carer's Credit for the current tax year and backdated for previous tax years, subject to normal time limits, so it's worth applying even if your caring responsibilities started some time ago and you haven't claimed before.
Try the calculators
Related reading
Carer's Allowance and the Overlapping Benefits Rule Explained 2026/27
How Carer's Allowance interacts with State Pension, JSA and ESA under the overlapping benefits rule, the earnings limit, and how it compares to the Universal Credit carer element.
State Pension Forecast 2026/27: How to Check Your Entitlement and Fill Gaps
The full State Pension is ยฃ241.30/week (ยฃ12,548/year) in 2026/27. Here is how to get your personal forecast online, how many qualifying years you need, and whether buying voluntary NI contributions is worth it.
State Pension Top-Up: Should You Pay Voluntary NI in 2026?
The full State Pension is ยฃ241.30/wk in 2026/27. Filling NI gaps costs ยฃ956.80 per missing year but breaks even in under 3 years โ if you have genuine gaps. Here's exactly how to check and whether it's worth it.