HMRC says thousands of parents will wake up to £2,212 extra in bank account

HMRC says thousands of parents will wake up to £2,212 extra in bank account

by · Birmingham Live

HMRC has urged thousands of parents to come forward to claim £2,212. Thousands of parents are set to be thousands of pounds worth off in retirement due to not applying for a no-brainer benefit as the Cost of Living crisis continues.

214,000 eligible parents do not apply for Child Benefit each year. The benefit is worth £25.60 a week for your eldest child, and then £16.95 a week for any subsequent children and for a family with two children who qualify, this adds up to £2,212.60 a year. For just one child, you get £1,331.20 a year.

Over six million families are currently receiving child benefit payments. And a claim can be backdated up to three months. It's crucial to remember that only one person can receive Child Benefit for a child. Therefore, if there are two parents, you will need to decide who will receive the payment.

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Steve Webb, partner at pension consultants LCP, said: "One of the "fringe benefits" of claiming child benefit is that you are also awarded valuable National Insurance credits which help you build up a state pension even if you are not working.

"What has made matters more complicated in the last decade is the creation of the high income child benefit charge which has put some families off claiming." Webb said: "But in this situation, parents should still go through the child benefit claim process and simply tick the box on the form to say that they want the NI credits but not the cash benefit.

"This way you protect your state pension but without having to worry about the high income charge." Webb added: "National Insurance credits can be very valuable and should not be thrown away lightly. Just one year of credits adds over £300 per year to your pension in retirement and this doesn’t cost you anything.

"Any parent who has never claimed should get a claim in as soon as possible as currently these will only be backdated for three months."