The lower earner should claim the child benefit?

[TheReflex]

Hopefully a quick one. I earn over 60k but I understand I should still apply for child benefit and not actually claim it as:
A. It will build my national insurance credits
B. DC will get a national insurance number

DP earns under 60k but can still tick the box not to claim the money (as we'd be eligible to pay it back with me earning over 60k). Would it not be better for him to claim it and build his state pension? Or is it just to have a continuous record in the case someone takes time out from work to raise the kids? I'm just not sure I understand it...

YANBU: DP should 'claim'
YABU: I should 'claim'

Assuming you're the one more likely to take time off work or reduce to part time at some stage, it makes sense for you to claim to protect your state benefit entitlements.

If you are already working and therefore claiming NI I wouldn’t bother as the lower earner has the NI credits and the higher earner will have to go into self assessment.

Neither of us earn over £60K but I claimed it as I took time off for maternity and therefore payed less NI that year.

Not sure that it matters who claims. We claim in my name (simply because that's how we set it up when we first made the claim) but DH was still able to claim the NI credits for the time he was at home/very part time. The downside is that I have to do a tax return but it was still worth it.

If you're both in full time employment, I'm not sure that NI credits are relevant but there may be other reasons to claim.

Claiming cb in aid of getting ni credits for your pensions is for low/no earners
So neither of you need to claim / repay

Secondly DC will get a national insurance number what is this?

i agree with pp who said neither of you need to claim - as in, it doesn't matter. the NI credits are only helpful if one of you isn't earning.

If you are both paying ni not worth it.
Dc get an ni number just before 16th birthday.

The NI credits are only useful if the claimant isn’t working.

A parents CB claim has zero effect on a child gaining their NI number at 16.

QueenOfTheFae
If the parent registers for child benefit (whether they actually claim it or not), the child will automatically by issued a National Insurance number when they are 16.

Are you both paying NI at the moment? If so, you don't need to 'claim' it at all as you're already building your NI contributions/pension through that.

And children get a NI number automatically when they're 16, regardless of whether you claim or not.

Are you from the UK? I'm just wondering where you've got your unusual ideas of how the system works!

Quite frankly I wouldn’t count on a state pension if you’re young enough to claim CB. Doesn’t seem worth the hassle for what will effectively be tuppence.

The NI is irrelevant if you are both working. If there becomes a time whereby one of you takes a break from working then you should claim.

If you are both working and paying NI then I don’t know why you would claim it?

If you both have jobs and paying NI you don't need to claim it as you're already making your NI contributions through your job.

Earning over 60k, you won't get money. A parent earning under 60k will actually get money. As you're working, you're building up your NI anyway. But yes, make sure you get private pensions as they're very tax efficient.

Quite frankly I wouldn’t count on a state pension if you’re young enough to claim CB. Doesn’t seem worth the hassle for what will effectively be tuppence.

^^ this state pension will most likely not exist by the time you come to claim.

The only way in which I do think it matter is the claimer of Child Benefit is usually seen as the Primary Parent- which is why it's almost exclusively women who claim- men don't take mat leave, become SAHD etc.

I believe, although please correct me if I'm wrong, that in a separation or divorce CB is key to the deciding of child maintenance and who is resident parent.

So if you are the CB claimant, it puts you in a stronger position when discussions of residence and maintenance come up.

Whoever is the child's main carer should claim it. Who took the most parental leave, anyone work p/t to care for child, who does nursery drop offs / pick ups, buying clothes when needed, potty training, making meals etc etc.

We are in the UK. Neither of us is looking to actually have the money just the NI credits but it sounds like that's pointless as were both FT.

Theres no issue re self assessment etc as we're not going to take the money in the first place so therefore dont need to repay it (theres a question in section 4 that says you dont wish to claim the money as you or your partner is a higher earner on the CH2 form which seems to suggest other people go thru the process for some reason if not to claim the actual money)

@JoJoSM2 if living together, no one can get the money/will have to pay it back if one partner is earning over 60k

Even if earning over £60k you can get the money and pay in back via self assessment. We claim but opt out of payment. It meant I got NI credits and the kids get their NI number automatically when they turn 16 (dd got hers this year)

If you’re affected by the tax charge

You can choose not to get Child Benefit payments, but you should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. This will help you getNational Insurance creditswhich count towards yourState Pension.

Claiming Child Benefit also means your child will get theirNational Insurance numberautomatically shortly before they’re 16. They will not have to apply for one themselves.

Already getting Child Benefit

You can either:

• stop getting Child Benefit- sometimes known as ‘opting out’
• carry on getting Child Benefit andpay any tax charge at the end of each tax year

From .Gov site

If you don't claim child benefit its unlikely that your child will automatically get their nino before their 16th birthday. HRP as it was in the olden days is now only payable until the child is 12 so which one of you is more likely to have a break in full time work up until the child is 12. If you have 2 children for example you can both claim the child benefit for each child which is what we did but still get the same amount of money paid.

@ArnoldBee

Your Child Benefit stops on 31 August on or after your child’s 16th birthday if they leave education or training. It continues if they stay in approved education or training, but you must tell the Child Benefit Office.
You’ll be sent a letter in your child’s last year at school asking you to confirm their plans.