Thousands of parents who don't claim Child Benefit could be set to get a state pension boost under new plans announced today.
The Government said it plans to tackle the issue of the High Income Child Benefit Charge, which kicks in for people who earn over £50,000 and claim Child Benefit.
If your income is between £50,000 and £60,000 then you will have to pay 1% of your Child Benefit back for every £100 you are over the threshold.
This has caused many high-income couples to stop claiming Child Benefit, due to them not wanting to incur the tax charge.
However, if these people have a child under 12 and stop claiming, then they miss out on National Insurance credits which go toward their National Insurance record and their state pension.
Parents do have the option to claim just the NI credits and not the cash - but in many cases, they don't.
Under current rules, if they do put in a claim, it will only be backdated for three months.
In a summary document published today, the Treasury said it recognised parents risked missing out on their future entitlement to the state pension and plans to address the issue.
However, no further details have been announced yet.
It said: "The Government will address this issue to enable affected parents to receive a National Insurance credit retrospectively. Further details of next steps will be set out in due course."
Since the introduction of the charge in 2013, the number of parents claiming child benefit has dropped dramatically.
In 2012, the number of people claiming the benefit stood at 7.9million, this has now dropped to just 7million people.
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown explained that for some parents, it was easier to not claim the benefit at all rather than go through the "rigmarole of claiming it and then having to effectively repay it through self-assessment".
Parents do have the option to claim just the National Insurance credits to fill the gaps however, many did not claim this as they were unaware of the option.
Steve Webb, a former pension minister and partner at LCP said until now, another problem with claiming was there was a three month time limit on backdating Child Benefit claims.
This meant many who did not claim would face permanent holes in their National Insurance records.
Steve Webb, partner at LCP who has campaigned on this issue for several years said: “Today’s announcement is extremely welcome.
"Whilst it is understandable that some parents may choose not to claim Child Benefit payments, it is vital that parents do not damage their state pension as a result.
"I am delighted that the government has finally listened to campaigners and plans to make changes which will boost the state pension of thousands of parents, and particularly many mothers who might otherwise have missed out”
The Mirror has contacted the HM Treasury for comment.
