Planning your future finances

Thinking about your retirement

It’s important to think about your retirement. As a carer, you might not have a full allocation of National Insurance (NI) contributions because of gaps in your employment due to caring. This could mean you do not get a full State Pension once you reach retirement age.

Accessing Pension Credit could be an option for you. You can also check your National Insurance record.

Protecting your State Pension

If you claim Carer’s Credit, rather than receiving a monetary payment, you get a National Insurance
contribution credit.

This credit helps to protect your pension rights if you are caring for someone but not paying NI contributions through paid work and if you are unable to claim Carer’s Allowance.

If you already get Carer’s Allowance, you do not need to claim Carer’s Credit as your pension is already protected.

For each week that you receive Carer’s Allowance, you get a Class 1 NI credit to help protect your record. Over time, this will help to build up your pension.

If you have a private pension

Have you worked in multiple places and have several small pension pots? You might want to consider moving all these smaller pension pots into one private pension.

By moving all your money to one place, you may be able to get a better rate.

This is not the right decision for everyone as some pensions have better rates or protections than others.

EDWARD - DO WE NEED SOMETHING ABOUT SEEKING FINANCIAL ADVICE HERE

Find more information

Money Helper UK is a free and impartial place to find out about money including planning for your retirement.