Grandparents helping out with childcare for under-12s can apply for free credits that can boost their state pension by around £359-a-year.
There is no minimum hours requirement, so long as a parent of the child confirms that care was provided and doesn’t need the credit to fill a gap in their own National Insurance record.
Knowledge of the credits will be valuable to grandparents as summer holidays loom and many prepare to take on additional childcare responsibilities, says financial services firm Quilter.
Some 160,000 successful claims for annual credits were made between 2016 and 2025 by grandparents or other family members – aunts,
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