Gah... so we're one of those families in which the 'wrong' parent has been claiming child benefit, i.e the parent on the higher income who does not need to accompanying NI credits.
I know this makes me totally stupid but I had no idea that when you claim child benefit, you also get NI credits allocated to your NI record. I found out last week when I checked my NI record and saw that under each year since claiming CB, I have NI credits allocated. I was really confused as to why, especially since I have been paying enough NI through paid employed, and then figured out the link with CB.
Since 2014 (yes, I know....), I've been in full time employment paying my NI contributions through work, I therefore don't need the credits. My DP on the other hand, has been doing most of the childcare for our two kids and has been self-employed/on low earnings. We also checked his NI record last week and he has quite a few years where he has not made, or not made enough, NI contributions towards state pension and could really benefit from the credits.
I spoke to the HMRC who said we can apply for the credits to be transferred. However, it was not very clear whether this was just for the last tax year, or whether it could be backdated all the way back to 2014. The application form itself is quite vague and says late applications might be approved 'if circumstances are reasonable'. I don't know if total ignorance about the existence of NI credits for child benefit claimants is 'reasonable'! Does anyone else have experience of making a NI credit transfer request over a period of multiple years and had any success?