Martin Lewis issues warning to women over 66 after HMRC claim sees £17,000 payout

Thousands of people may not realise they are owed money by HMRC

Martin Lewis has warned women over 66 to check if they’re owed money from HMRC after one person claimed back more than £17,000.

The money saving expert estimated 210,000 people may be affected by the issue, due to incorrect National Insurance records.

It relates to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) between 1978 and 2010 - now known as National Insurance credit - which supported people when they were out of work to look after their children.

Martin Lewis said women over 66 who may be impacted should check their state pension (Martin Lewis Money Show/ITV )

The benefit reduced the number of qualifying years needed to claim the state pension, but HRP is missing from some records meaning women could now be owed a backlog of payments.

Have you successfully made a claim to HMRC? Email athena.stavrou@independent.co.uk

Discussing the issue on the Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV on Tuesday evening, Martin shared one success story from a man named Trevor.

He said: “Following your show about Home Responsibilities, my wife claimed from 2007. Took some time but letter just received informing her she will receive just under £17,000 plus increased monthly payment. Thank you so much.”

Martin told the live audience: “If you were off work, looking after your children - it was mainly women in this period - hundreds of thousands of people were not given the National Insurance credits they should have got for looking after their children when they weren’t working. So that is what this is about.

“It effectively lifts the amount of state pension [the viewer] should have got and it’s been paid backdated, and there are a lot of people in that situation. Women aged over 66 should be looking at that, at the moment.”

Some 60,000 of the total number of people affected are thought to be deceased, but their families can make a claim for any money owed.

The rules for qualifying for a year of HRP from 1978 are:

• You had to be receiving Child Benefit in your own name (not that of a spouse or partner)
• Your child was under 16 for the whole of the financial year in question
• You were not paying the married woman’s reduced rate

Martin encouraged women to check their state pension and National Insurance record, and then contact HMRC if they believe they are affected.