Carer’s Credit: protecting your NI record

Carer’s Credit is a Class 3 National Insurance credit for people aged 16 or over and under State Pension age who care for one or more disabled people for at least 20 hours a week. It turns weeks of caring into qualifying years for the State Pension, with no test of your income or savings. It is not automatic: unless you already get Carer’s Allowance or Child Benefit for a child under 12, you have to apply on a paper form.

What is Carer’s Credit and where does it come from?

GOV.UK describes Carer’s Credit as a National Insurance credit that helps with gaps in your record, so you can take on caring without affecting your ability to qualify for the State Pension. The legal basis is section 23A(3)(c) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, which credits a Class 3 contribution for each week in which a person is “engaged in caring”. Regulation 5(1)(b) of the Social Security (Contributions Credits for Parents and Carers) Regulations 2010 says you are engaged in caring in a week if you care for another person or persons for a total of 20 or more hours, and either each person cared for is entitled to a relevant benefit or the Secretary of State considers that level of care appropriate.

Class 3 credits count towards the State Pension only. They do not help with contribution based benefits such as New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Who can claim it?

You must be 16 or over, under State Pension age, and looking after one or more people for at least 20 hours a week. The 20 hours can be split between more than one person, because regulation 5 refers to a total. GOV.UK says your income, savings or investments will not affect eligibility.

The person you look after normally needs to get one of these:

• Disability Living Allowance care component, or Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance, at the middle or highest rate
• Attendance Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment daily living part
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Child Disability Payment care component at the middle or highest rate
• Adult Disability Payment daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate
• Pension Age Disability Payment

If they do not get any of these, you can still apply. The form contains a Care Certificate, which a health or social care professional signs to confirm the level of care.

How is it different from Carer’s Allowance?

	Carer’s Allowance (2026 to 2027)	Carer’s Credit
Hours of care	At least 35 a week caring for someone	At least 20 a week, can be across several people
Earnings test	Earnings of £204 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses	None; income and savings ignored
Education	Not in full time education	No such condition
Payment	£86.45 a week	No payment
Credits	Class 1, automatic	Class 3, on application

GOV.UK makes the link explicit: carers who do not qualify for Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment may qualify for Carer’s Credit. The typical claimant is someone who works part time and earns too much for Carer’s Allowance but too little to make a qualifying year, or who cares for 20 to 34 hours a week.

Who does not need to apply?

You do not need Carer’s Credit if you:

• get Carer’s Allowance, or Carer Support Payment in Scotland, because you get Class 1 credits automatically
• get Child Benefit for a child under 12, because you get Class 3 credits automatically (see claiming Child Benefit for the NI credits)
• are a foster carer, in which case you apply for credits on form CF411A instead

People on Universal Credit also get Class 3 credits automatically. And if you already earn at least £129 a week from one employer in 2026 to 2027, the year qualifies anyway and the credit adds nothing.

What happens during breaks in caring?

GOV.UK says you can keep Carer’s Credit through breaks of up to 12 weeks in a row, for example a short holiday or a hospital stay by you or the person you look after. Tell the Carer’s Allowance Unit if a break lasts longer than 12 weeks.

Regulation 7 of the 2010 Regulations adds three 12 week periods that are easy to miss. You are treated as engaged in caring for 12 weeks before the date you become entitled to Carer’s Allowance, for 12 weeks after your Carer’s Allowance ends (unless you are already getting credits for it), and for 12 weeks after the week in which the 20 hour test stops being met, for example after the person you cared for dies or moves into a care home.

How do you claim, and is there a deadline?

Download the Carer’s Credit claim form, or ask the Carer’s Allowance Unit to post one. The carer or their representative fills it in, not the person being looked after, and it must be printed and completed in pen. Send it to Freepost DWP Carers Allowance Unit, with nothing else written on the envelope.

There is a time limit. Regulation 12 says an application must be received before the end of the tax year following the tax year in which the week claimed falls, or within such further time as the Secretary of State or HMRC considers reasonable. Caring weeks in 2025 to 2026 should therefore be claimed by 5 April 2027. Do not rely on the discretion to accept late claims.

If a decision goes against you, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration.

How does it fill gaps in your record?

A tax year is a qualifying year when your earnings factor reaches 52 times the lower earnings limit, £129 a week in 2026 to 2027. Each week of Carer’s Credit counts towards that, so a full year of caring makes a qualifying year on its own, and part of a year can combine with weeks of work or other credits. Where your State Pension forecast is below the full rate of £241.30 a week, each extra qualifying year adds about £6.89 a week.

Illustration only. Dan, 52, works 14 hours a week earning £110 a week and spends about 25 hours a week caring for his father, who gets Attendance Allowance. His earnings are below the lower earnings limit, so on their own they do not make a qualifying year, and his 25 hours are too few for Carer’s Allowance. With Carer’s Credit each year counts. Without it he would need voluntary Class 3 contributions at £18.40 a week to fill the same gap.

What are the common mistakes?

• Assuming a job rules you out. There is no earnings test.
• Missing the deadline. Claims are generally limited to the current and previous tax year.
• Not counting care for two people together. The 20 hours is a total.
• Married women paying reduced rate contributions. GOV.UK says you cannot usually get credits if you are a married woman paying the reduced rate.
• Caring beyond State Pension age. The credit stops when you reach it.

Check your National Insurance record after a claim to confirm the credits appear. Other credits are listed in National Insurance credits.

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Related Accountapedia entries

• Home Responsibilities Protection and missing years
• NI credits for grandparents who look after children
• National Insurance classes explained
• NI credits for partners of armed forces members
• Voluntary Class 2 contributions
• Universal Credit and the minimum income floor
• Qualifying care relief for foster carers

Sources

• GOV.UK: Carers credit
• legislation.gov.uk: Act 1992 c. 4, section 23A
• legislation.gov.uk: SI 2010/19, regulation 5
• GOV.UK: National insurance credits
• GOV.UK: Carers allowance
• GOV.UK: Eligibility
• legislation.gov.uk: SI 2010/19, regulation 7
• GOV.UK: Carers credit application form
• legislation.gov.uk: SI 2010/19, regulation 12
• GOV.UK: Your state pension explained

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 19 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.