Hmrc could owe you thousands of pounds if you had children between these years

HMRC IS WRITING TO AROUND 370,000 PEOPLE TO INFORM THEM OF A MISTAKE THAT COULD BE AFFECTING THEIR STATE PENSION, WITH THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS OWED A SIGNIFICANT SUM 04:00, 31 May 2025 HMRC

has uncovered a historical error that means thousands of women could be due compensation to the tune of £7,859. The error primarily impacted women who gave birth in the 80s and 90s under

the Labour Party government's tax department. Consequently, HMRC is now sending letters to these women about their potential entitlement to a significant payout. The mistake relates to

Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a scheme aimed at reducing the number of years needed on your National Insurance record to qualify for the full state pension. Tax experts suggest

that those most affected by this oversight are stay-at-home mothers who claimed Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000. _For money-saving tips,__ sign up to our Money newsletter here_. During

this time, if you were at home raising children or caring for someone and receiving either Child Benefit or Income Support, you were eligible for HRP. However, the system was altered in 2010

when HRP was replaced with National Insurance credits. Unfortunately, for thousands of people, their HRP entitlement wasn't correctly recorded or transferred to their National

Insurance record. Article continues below This lapse by HMRC, which has now been recognised and is being rectified, means some individuals have gaps in their records, according to Birmingham

Live. What's more worrying is that as a result, they may be receiving less state pension than they're entitled to, or will be in the future. The tax department has initiated the

process of sending letters to roughly 370,000 individuals. They've pinpointed just over 5,300 instances of underpayment from January to September 2024, amounting to a total debt of

around £42 million. On average, each person is due approximately £7,859. It's projected that about 43,000 of the affected individuals have unfortunately passed away, however, their

families are still eligible to claim the owed sum. HMRC is prioritising those who have reached pensionable age and reaching out to them first. Article continues below To qualify, you must

have been receiving child benefit in your own name (not a spouse or partner), your child was under 16 for the entire financial year in question, and you were not contributing to the married

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