Pensions boost for parents - new measures could help you get back £1,000s

Parents who opted out of receiving child benefit because of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge face getting a lower state pension - but a new fix means you’ll soon be able to plug the gap and it could be worth thousands

Mum holding paper at laptop
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Parents, mostly mums, who chose not to receive child benefit payments because of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge also, unintentionally also waived goodbye to National Insurance credits that count towards their state pension. For some, the loss is state pension could be as high as £20,000 according to Royal London research. 

The High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge, which has long been criticised for being unfair, means that once one parent starts earning above £50,000, they become liable for paying the charge.

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John Fitzsimons

John Fitzsimons has been writing about finance since 2007, and is a former editor of Mortgage Solutions and loveMONEY. Since going freelance in 2016 he has written for publications including The Sunday Times, The Mirror, The Sun, The Daily Mail and Forbes, and is committed to helping readers make more informed decisions about their money.