Fix for missing child benefit NI credits delayed – what it means for your state pension

Parents who missed out on National Insurance (NI) credits after opting out of child benefit will have to wait longer to fill the gaps in their records, after a new government fix was delayed by a year. 

The National Insurance replacement credits service, originally due to launch in April 2026, is now expected in April 2027. It’s designed to help parents and carers who didn’t claim child benefit – often due to the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) – but in doing so missed out on NI credits that count towards their state pension. 

Here Which? explains what the service will offer, how it will work and what the delay means for parents looking to plug gaps in their records.

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How child benefit affects your state pension

Child benefit is a weekly payment for parents or carers, worth £27.05 for the eldest child and £17.90 for each additional child in the 2026-27 tax year.

As well as providing extra income, claiming child benefit also gives you National Insurance (NI) credits if you’re responsible for a child under 12. These credits help fill gaps in your NI record and protect your entitlement to the state pension if you take time off work.

The issue stems from changes introduced in 2013, when the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) came into force. This means higher earners may have to repay some or all of the benefit through the tax system. 

As a result, many parents chose not to claim child benefit to avoid the charge. However, this had an unintended consequence. By not claiming, they also missed out on NI credits, often without realising.

Because child benefit claims can only be backdated for three months, some parents who later realised they could claim the credits without receiving payments have been left with years of missing NI credits. 

You need 35 full years of NI contributions to get the new full state pension and you need 10 years to receive anything at all. To address this, the government announced a ‘replacement credits’ system in April 2023. This aimed to help parents who failed to claim child benefit in time. 

While originally slated for an April 2026 rollout, the service is now delayed until April 2027. The current delay is reportedly down to the complex technical nature of the project.

• Find out more: child benefit rates

Who will be affected by the delay?

For those who do have gaps in their NI record, HMRC says most will not be affected by the delay because they will still be able to apply for NI credits once the service becomes available in April 2027.

HMRC said: ‘We can reassure parents and carers that when the service launches in April 2027, they will still be able to claim credits going back to January 2013, meaning no one will miss out on them.

‘Because those who benefit from the service will be families with children under the age of 12 since 2013, we expect very few to have reached state pension age by this April.’

However, some people may see a short-term impact on their state pension. This is most likely to affect people who are already receiving their state pension or will reach state pension age before April 2027.

This is because any missing NI credits may not be added to their record in time to increase their pension payments during that period

• Find out more: national insurance and the state pension

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What to do if you are affected?

If you believe you will suffer financial loss due to the delay, HMRC says you can ask it to look at your case. To be considered, you will need to meet the following criteria, which include:

• You were eligible for child benefit for a child under the age of 12 at any time from 7 January 2013
• No one else claimed child benefit (or reported a financial loss) for the same child during those dates
• You reached (or will reach) state pension age between 6 April 2016 and 6 April 2027
• The delay in introducing the replacement credits service directly affects your state pension payments

Requests can be made through HMRC’s complaints process, which can be submitted online, by post or over the phone. The details you’ll need to include in your complaint can be found on Gov.uk.

HMRC says it will review each case individually. If it agrees you have suffered a financial loss, it will calculate a payment to reflect the impact on your state pension up to April 2027. Any payments are expected to be made after the replacement credits service is introduced in April 2027.

• Find out more: tax-free childcare and help with childcare costs

3 reasons to claim child benefit

Alongside aiding your state pension entitlement, there are other benefits to claiming child benefit as a parent or carer. These include: 

1. Boosts your household income: For most families, the benefit provides a regular, tax-free payment to help with the costs of raising children. It is currently worth over £1,300 a year for the first child and over £880 for each additional child.
2. Automatic NI number: By claiming, your child is automatically registered to receive a National Insurance number when they turn 16 – saving them from having to apply for one manually when they start work or training.
3. Transferring credits to family members: If you are working and don't need the NI credits, you can transfer them to a grandparent or another family member who provides care for your child. This can help boost their state pension if they have gaps in their own record.

Find out more: two-child benefit cap lifted from April 2026