A spokesperson for Department of Work and Pensions said: "The number of people receiving specified adult childcare credits has risen substantially since they were introduced in 2011. When people talk about investing, they often refer to putting money into “shares”, or buying “stocks and shares”. The rate cap varies depending on whether families use centre-based day care, family day care or outside school hours care. Success! Each credit is worth £250 a year on your state pension, and you generally need 35 years' built up in order to get the full amount. For more information or to contact a member of the team see our Family Services. If you’re not sure about what you might be entitled to, you can contact our advice service, who will be able to talk through your options with you. For example, if they’re relying solely on an income from their superannuation fund, it will depend how much income is being drawn down. The local authority may have agreed to the placement after agreement had been reached directly but may not have taken steps to place the child with the grandparent. Subscribe to MoneyWeek now and get a free guide to investing in gold, plus your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE, Specified Adult Childcare National Insurance credits, CA9176 form, available online from HM Revenue & Customs. 3 take whatever action is required to protect the child. These Specified Adult Childcare National Insurance Credits could be worth an extra £250 per year when you reach retirement age, which could add up to thousands of pounds over the years when you’re claiming your pension. But like many parents, the school holidays bring a few hurdles for us to jump over! If a grandchild comes to live with a grandparent and the local authority has not placed the child with the grandparent, for example where an agreement has been reached directly between parent and grandparent, then there are no specific duties on the local authority to provide financial assistance. Entitlement to some benefits depends on your financial circumstances. Maidstone Grandparents who are not on an income support payment but are still the primary carer also have access to 100 hours of subsidised care per child per fortnight. They are entitled to 100 hours of subsidised child care per child per fortnight, for which the amount of subsidy they receive is “equal to the actual fee charged by the child care service, up to 120 per cent of the Child Care Subsidy hourly rate cap, whichever is lower”. "It would be quite wrong if these grandparents suffered financially in terms of their own state pension as a result. The grandparent should receive a kinship allowance (grandparents cannot receive a fostering allowance as they are a relative). This may be an informal arrangement or a more formal foster arrangement. Graylaw House Read more: Parents outraged as primary school kids ‘told to fill out form if they want to use toilet’. You can find out more about the eligibility requirements here – https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility. The held that the Judge had been entitled to find that the local authority placed the child with her grandmother and she was therefore entitled to payments equivalent to a fostering allowance. If you need to report your concerns outside normal office hours (weekends and at night) you should report your concerns to the Garda Síochána. She became a member of Starts at 60 and got access to amazing travel deals, free masterclasses, exclusive news and features and hot member discounts! But one of the main barriers for getting back to work is the cost of childcare. "It is increasingly common for grandparents to spend some time each week looking after their grandchildren, often to enable a parent to go out to work. For example, enrolling the child in school or agreeing to a medical procedure for the child is usually easier if you have a court order. JK and Kelly Brook But the percentage of cost that is subsidised is determined by the family’s annual income. The gold bull is back! If a grandchild has come to live with you or is likely to come and live with you in the near future, it is vitally important that you take legal advice to establish whether or not the local authority has a duty to provide financial assistance and, if so, how much that assistance should be.