Glossary · UK
What is Carer's Credit?
A National Insurance credit for people caring for a sick or disabled person for at least 20 hours a week who do not qualify for Carer's Allowance, protecting their State Pension record without any cash payment.
Full Definition
Carer's Credit is a National Insurance credit -- not a cash benefit -- available to people who care for one or more sick or disabled people for at least 20 hours a week but who do not otherwise qualify for Carer's Allowance, most commonly because their earnings are too high, they care for someone who does not receive a qualifying disability benefit at a high enough rate, or because they share caring responsibilities with someone else so that no single carer meets the 35-hour-a-week threshold Carer's Allowance requires. It fills a specific gap for carers whose caring responsibilities are genuine and substantial but who fall just outside the stricter Carer's Allowance rules. To qualify, the cared-for person generally needs to be in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit (such as the daily living component of PIP, Attendance Allowance, or Disability Living Allowance at the middle or highest rate), though a claimant can also qualify via a "Care Certificate" signed by a health or social care professional confirming the required level of care is being provided, which is useful where the cared-for person has not yet been assessed for, or does not qualify for, a qualifying disability benefit. Carer's Credit can be backdated, and multiple carers sharing care of the same person can each potentially claim it for the periods they provide the qualifying level of care. Because Carer's Credit adds a Class 3 National Insurance credit to the carer's record for each qualifying week, rather than paying any money, its main value is protecting the carer's entitlement to the new State Pension (which requires 35 qualifying years for the full amount) and other contributory benefits during years when caring responsibilities prevent them from working enough to build up their own National Insurance record through paid employment. Carers already receiving Carer's Allowance do not need to separately claim Carer's Credit, since Carer's Allowance itself carries an automatic National Insurance credit; Carer's Credit exists specifically for carers who fall outside Carer's Allowance but would otherwise have gaps in their contribution record purely because of unpaid caring responsibilities.