The child benefit claim form and guidance notes were updated in April 2017 to stress further the importance of making a claim. You need 35 years' worth of NICs to get the full state pension and 10 years to get anything at all. If there were years where you didn't get enough NI credits to give you a 'qualifying year', you may find you have a gap on your NI record. This adds exactly the same amount to your state pension as a year spent in paid work and paying NI contributions. Since leaving the Department of Work and Pensions after the May 2015 election, Steve has joined pension firm Royal London as director of policy.

My complaint against a financial adviser about a final salary pension transfer was upheld by the Ombudsman, so what happens now? Steve will do his best to reply to your message in a forthcoming column, but he won't be able to answer everyone or correspond privately with readers. Nothing in his replies constitutes regulated financial advice. Published questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons. You can apply for National Insurance credits. You’ll need to provide supporting evidence with your form. How to complete the form Use the online serviceFor example, people who have a National Insurance Contribution (NIC) record below 35 years will have a deduction applied, as will those who 'contracted out' of the additional state pension before 2016 in return for lower NICs. But a non-working live-in partner can still apply to have the last tax year transferred, so long as they claim by 5 April in the following tax year, using form CF411A.

There is no time limit on transfer applications before that tax year, but you cannot apply for such transfers for the years from 2010/11 to 2016/17 because there is now a time limit. son or daughter of the current or previous husband, wife, partner or civil partner of anyone in the listAlthough you can't start taking your state pension before state pension age, you can delay when you start receiving it.

Stev e receives many questions about state pension forecasts and COPE – the Contracted Out Pension Equivalent. If you are writing to Steve on this topic, he responds to a typical reader question here . It includes links to Steve’s several earlier columns about state pension forecasts and contracting out, which might be helpful. However, the crucial point regarding your question is that the credits go to the person ‘receiving child benefit’. HP Inc UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN 973346) and acts as a credit intermediary and not a lender, offering credit products provided by a limited number of finance providers. Such credit products may not be suitable for everyone. Borrowing more than you can afford or paying late may negatively impact your financial status and ability to obtain credit.When a working partner who is already paying National Insurance contributions claims child benefit, their non-working live-in partner can apply to have the state pension credits transferred to them for tax years up to 2009/10 using form CF411. There are no time limits on these applications.