Grandparents who regularly care for their grandchildren could be in line for a significant income boost. Specified adult childcare credits (SACCs), introduced in 2011, were designed to support those looking after a family member's children, contributing towards their future state pension.

The National Insurance credit received by a parent or carer claiming Child Benefit can be transferred weekly as Class 3 National Insurance credit for each week of care provided. Despite over 12 million people in the UK claiming state pension, only around 150,000 applications for SACCs have been made in the past eight years, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data.

In total, applicants can see their state pension increase by £328 per year, or around £6,000 across an average retirement period. This follows a study from SunLife that found 59 per cent of grandparents provide frequent childcare for their grandchildren - averaging 18 hours per week.

If those providing the childcare were paid for their time, they would be owed a salary of around £11,000 a year.

Who is eligible for the credits?

According to official government guidance, you may be entitled to the credits if you meet both of the following:

• you are an eligible family member who provided care for a child
  aged under 12
• their parent or main carer does not need the credits themselves

A full list of who qualifies as a family member can be found on GOV.UK here.

How to apply for SACC

You can send in an application for the credits so long as you meet one of the following:

• you are an eligible family member, who provided care for a child
  aged under 12
• you were aged 16 years and over, but under State Pension age, when you provided care for the child
• you are ordinarily resident in the UK, but not the Channel Islands or the
  Isle of Man
• the child’s parent or main carer has claimed Child Benefit, but does not need the credits themselves
• the child’s parent or main carer agrees to your application

Applications for SACC can only be made after October 31 of the tax year you wish to claim for, as checks will need to be made if the parent or main carer of the child has a qualifying year for National Insurance reasons.

To apply, you'll need to fill out a form online, print it off and send it to HMRC via post. The address you need to send the form to is included on the form itself, according to government guidance.