Martin Lewis pressing name to anybody aged 40 to 73 – verify earlier than ‘door shuts ceaselessly’
Money saving expert Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to people aged between 40 and 73 – and if you don’t act soon, you could lose out on thousands of pounds
Financial expert Martin Lewis is warning people to act now before the “door shuts forever”. The Money Saving Expert website founder says a simple online check could boost your pension pot by over £10,000.
He has issued an urgent call to action for anyone aged 40 to 73. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “Pls share. If someone hasn’t checked this yet and is between the age of 40 and 73.
“Without exaggeration it could be worth £10,000s, so check. If you miss it now the door shuts forever on 5 April.”
Speaking last year on his ITV show last year Mr Lewis warned about 200,000 people might have let the “wrong” person claim child benefit. This means their state pension could be reduced due to missing out on National Insurance contributions.
One pensioner told the show how they added £32,000 to his pension pot after taking tips from the money expert. Viewer Gabriel found an oversight with their child benefit claims had affected their National Insurance credits and as a result, their pension, reports Lancs Live.
Co-host Jeanette Kwakye shared Gabriel’s success story: “Gabriel’s been in touch. After watching your show about pensions, I realised I have about 14 years of shortfall. I asked for my wife’s child benefit, national insurance credits to be transferred to my name, and I received 11 years of credit increasing my pension by over 60 pounds a week.”
Gabriel added: “If I live 10 years after pension age, I’ll get an extra £32,000. So thank you so much.”
Working parent
Mr Lewis then added if Gabriel lives longer there could be an even bigger benefit. He explained: “Of course, typical life expectancy once you take your pension is double that, so it could be 60 grand.”
He continued by pointing out a wider issue saying: “There are, I believe, 200,000 people in the country who had the wrong parent claim child benefit. Because what happens is if you’re working, you get national insurance credits that go towards your pension.
“And if you’re looking after a child, you also get national insurance pen credits. But if you have one working parent and one non-working parent, and the working parent is the one who claims child benefit, then they’re already getting it from working.
“So they don’t need it from childcare. And the other one isn’t getting so that transfer will be that he was earning less than the threshold to get national insurance credits. She was earning over it. He should have been claiming he wasn’t so they’ve transferred it. £32,000. 200,000 people in that situation. It’s worth looking at that. That is brilliant.”
By claiming Child Benefi it means a person who is not working so they can look after children can also get the national insurance (NI) credits needed for a full state pension. But if the wrong person, the higher earner, claims the low earner, the one at home, could lose out on a hefty amount of their future State Pension.
The Money Saving Expert website explains: “If you (or your partner) are not working, or earning less than £123 a week, claiming Child Benefit lets you earn NI credits you wouldn’t otherwise have earned. So it’s crucial you apply, even if one partner’s income means you’ll have to pay back some or all of the Child Benefit payment. New Child Benefit claims can currently only be backdated by three months, so apply ASAP.”
HMRC confirmed they believe 200,000 parents could be losing out on credits because it’s the better-paid parent in the relationship who’s claiming the Child Benefit. Apply for National Insurance credits if you’re a parent or carer here. If a person or their partner are registered for Child Benefit they can apply for credits missing from a National Insurance record and transfer credits from a spouse or partner.
