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Who was eligible

Depending on your circumstances, either you qualified automatically for HRP or you will have to apply.

Qualifying automatically for Home Responsibilities Protection

You got Home Responsibilities Protection automatically if you were:

• Income Support

Applying for Home Responsibilities Protection

You have to apply for Home Responsibilities Protection if you were:

How it worked

When working out your basic State Pension, the number of years you got Home Responsibilities Protection was taken away from the number of qualifying years needed to calculate your pension.

But for a full basic State Pension, Home Responsibilities Protection couldn't reduce the number of qualifying years below 20.

You may also become entitled to additional State Pension if you qualified for Home Responsibilities Protection because you:

• Understanding the basic State Pension (pensions and retirement planning section)

• Understanding the additional State Pension (pensions and retirement planning section)

Changes from April 2010 for parents and carers

Home Responsibilities Protection has been replaced for people reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010.

From 6 April 2010, parents and carers are able to get qualifying years through new weekly credits for the basic State Pension and additional State Pension. If you are a parent or carer, you will get a credit for each week in which you:

• are getting Child Benefit for children aged under 12
• are an approved foster carer
• are caring for at least 20 hours a week for people who are getting Attendance Allowance, the middle-rate or highest-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, or Constant Attendance Allowance, or the need for care has been certified

There will be no limit to the credits awarded to parents and carers after April 2010, as long as you meet the qualifying rules.

If you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010, complete tax years of Home Responsibilities Protection you have already built up before 2010 have been converted into qualifying years up to a maximum of 22 years. These qualifying years will also count towards bereavement benefits.

• Caring and your pension (caring for someone section)

• Changes to State Pensions for parents and carers (pensions and retirement planning section)

Who wasn't eligible

In the following circumstances you would not usually have got HRP.

Carer's Allowance

If you get Carer's Allowance you'll automatically get National Insurance credits and would not usually have needed Home Responsibilities Protection.

Married women or widows

If you were a married woman or a widow, you couldn't get Home Responsibilities Protection for any complete tax year if:

• you held a Married Woman’s Reduced Rate Election which was in force for that tax year
• you had chosen to pay reduced rate Class 1 National Insurance contributions as an employee (commonly known as the small stamp)
• you had chosen not to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions when self-employed

How to claim

You may still be able to apply for Home Responsibilities Protection if you were:

• caring for a sick or disabled person for a complete tax year before April 2010
• a foster carer

You can claim Home Responsibilities Protection by contacting HM Revenue & Customs to get application form CF411.

• Contact HM Revenue & Customs Opens new window

Download a form to print off and complete

You can also download the claim form CF411 from the HM Revenue & Customs website.

• Download 'Home Responsibilities Protection CF411' (PDF, 89K) Opens new window

• Download 'Notes for Home Responsibilities Protection CF411' (PDF, 89K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

Foster carers

When you fill in form CF411, if you're a foster carer you need to give a letter from your local authority or the agency you worked for that confirms you were an approved foster carer throughout the full tax year.

When to claim Home Responsibilities Protection

If you're claiming Home Responsibilities Protection for years you've spent caring for someone with a long-term illness or disability between April 1978 and April 2002, you can claim at any time. If you're over State Pension age you can still apply. You will not normally be paid any increase of State Pension that may have been due for previous years.

For the tax years 2002-03 onwards, Home Responsibilities Protection has had to be claimed within three years of the end of any tax year you spent caring for someone with a long-term illness or disability.

Example

If you were caring for someone with a long-term illness or disability throughout the 2009-10 tax year, you must claim before 5 April 2013.

More useful links

• Caring for a disabled child (caring for someone section)

• Bereavement benefits - financial help

Useful contacts

• Money, tax and benefits contacts