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Personal and household finance

Protecting your pension

One in five carers is forced to give up employment in order to look after someone, and this causes gaps in their pension record. As a result, many carers struggle to make ends meet when they reach retirement age. This means that if you're a carer, protecting your pensions can be an important issue.

There are ways that your state retirement pension can be protected. In order to receive a state retirement pension you have to have:

  • paid enough national insurance contributions,
  • been credited with enough national insurance contributions, or
  • a combination of the two.

There are ways to ensure that your pension is protected if you are a carer. These include national insurance credits or carer’s credit.

You may also have a private or works pension. See the information below on the range of pensions that exist and where to seek help if you're going to take a break from paying into a private or works pension.

The government's official online source of information on benefits is Directgov.

Click on the bar for information about getting advice on your pension.

Getting advice

As a carer, your working years may be a combination of paid employment in full-time, part-time, well-paid or low-paid jobs. There may be years when you haven't done any paid work or you've spent long periods in part-time or low-paid employment. You can still benefit from a private pension in addition to the state pension.

There are many non-state pension schemes on offer, and you may wish to consider them all before deciding whether you want to take out a personal or stakeholder pension. However, you can also get help in making your decision from a financial adviser or specialist.

Financial Services Authority

All companies offering advice on pensions or other financial products must be registered by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). You can check if the person or company you're using is registered by calling the Money Made Clear helpline on 0300 500 5000 or using the FSA online register.

The Pensions Advisory Service

The Pensions Advisory Service is an independent, non-profit organisation that provides free information, advice and guidance on state, company, personal and stakeholder pension schemes.

Pension tracking

The Directgov pension tracing service can help you find a pension company you have lost track of even if you don't have all the details.

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Last reviewed: 19/04/2024

Next review due: 19/04/2024

Call Carers Direct on 0808 802 0202

Free, confidential information and advice for carers.

Lines are open 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm at weekends. Calls are free from UK landlines and mobiles or you can request a free call back.

You can also ask for a call back in one of more than 170 languages including ربي, বাংলা, 中文, Français, ગુજરાતી, Polski, Português, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, Soomaali, Español, Türkçe and .اردو.

You can talk to an adviser live online or send a query by email.

Find out more about the Carers Direct helpline.

Services near you

Find addresses, phone number and websites for services for carers near you.

Power of Attorney

Settle your future care and affairs by making a Power of Attorney to outline wishes if you become unable to make decisions.

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