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I'm getting a lower state pension due to my ex-husband. He signed up to child benefit in his name, rather than mine, and because I stayed at home, I wasn't making National Insurance payments.
My ex-husband continued to work, so he would have got the qualifying years anyway. What can I do?
A Which? Money member
Which? money expert Hannah Heath says...
You need at least 10 years of National Insurance (NI) contributions to get any state pension, and 35 years for the full state pension.
Claiming child benefit gives you NI credits, which fill gaps in your record.
If one partner doesn't earn, they should claim child benefit to secure NI credits at no extra cost
But it can only be claimed by one parent - and if that parent already receives credits through employment, then no additional credit is given for claiming child benefit.
This means that if one partner doesn't earn, they should claim child benefit to secure these NI credits at no extra cost.
Another way to fill gaps in your record is to pay voluntary Class 3 contributions (£18.40 a week is the rate for 2026-2027).
However, you can only pay for gaps for the past six years, so unfortunately you won't be able to fill the gaps you missed from not claiming child benefit.
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