Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department does not allow full backdating of state pension credits for non-working claimants who claim child benefit late.

There are no credits for State Pension purposes alone. Child Benefit claims give eligibility for National Insurance credits, which count for a range of contributory benefits and the new State Pension. The Government believes that three months is a reasonable period to backdate claims for Child Benefit. A longer period of backdating would make it harder to verify evidence and establish entitlement, since Child Benefit relies upon being responsible for a child each week.

Qualifying Years of National Insurance which count towards State Pension eligibility can be built through a number of ways; National Insurance (NI) contributions whilst working or self-employed; by being credited with NI credits including for Child Benefit; and through making voluntary NI contributions. Additionally, individuals may build up sufficient qualifying years, over an expected working life of 50 years, even if there are some gaps in their NI record; most individuals under the age of 50 will get a full State Pension with 35 qualifying years.