EVEN if your retirement is a long way off, carers should think about whether they need to take action now to make sure they will be entitled to as much state pension as possible in the future.

This is especially true:

if you are looking after a child under the age of 16 and are not in paid work, or do not earn enough in a tax year for it to count towards the basic state retirement pension (below £3,900 in the 2002/03 tax year) and get Child Benefit.;

or if you are looking after someone who has a long-term illness or disability (including a child over the age of six) and are not in paid work, or do not earn enough in a tax year for it to count towards the basic state retirement pension.

The amount of basic state retirement pension which people receive can vary and you may not necessarily be entitled to the full amount when you reach state pension age.

This is because entitlement is built up over your working life and you may not always be in paid work.

However, there are ways you build up entitlement when you aren't working - through National Insur-ance credits and Home Responsibilities Protection.

Credits are put into your National Insurance account and count towards a qualifying year for a basic state retirement pension in the same way as a National Insurance contribution.

There will be certain conditions you need to fulfil before you can get a credit, and these will depend on the reason you are not able to work.

Even if you are not getting National Insurance credits, you can protect your basic state pension.

In certain circumstances the amount of years that you were not in paid employment are taken into account when your basic state retirement pension entitlement is worked out. This is called Home Responsibilities.

Some people can build up additional state pension on top of the basic state retirement pension as the State Earnings-Related Pension or SERPS for short.

Until April 2002, only employees could qualify for an additional state pension under SERPS. Carers and people with a long-term illness or disability could not build up additional state pension.

However, as from last month, SERPS is being reformed through the State Second Pension which provides a more generous additional state pension than SERPS for people on low or moderate earnings and, for the first time, an additional state pension for certain carers and people with a long-term illness or disability.

More information is available in the following ways:

The leaflet Sick or Disabled (SD1) is a basic guide to benefits and tax credits for people of all ages with a physical or mental illness or disability - and for people who look after them.

The leaflet Caring for Someone (SD4) is a quick guide to Invalid Care Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and other benefits for carers and disabled people.

Copies of the above leaflets are available through your local social security office (details in your local phone book).

You can also see these guides on the website (www.dwp.gov.uk).

The Benefit Enquiry Line for ill and disabled people and their carers offers a free phone service on 0800 882200. There is also a textphone service available on 0800 243355.

You can get a claim pack from your local social security office or by phoning the Invalid Care Allowance unit on 01253 856123 (textphone 01772 899489).

You can contact the Inland Revenue to check whether you have been awarded Home Responsibilities Protection by calling 0845 915 8303 or 0845 915 8493. (Textphone 0845 915 8435).

The Department for Work and Pensions has various guides to pensions.

To order, telephone 0845 7 313233. Alternatively, textphone 0845 604 0210 or visit (www.pensionguide.gov.uk).

All are available on audio cassette and in Braille.

For information about caring, contact Carers UK (formerly the Carers' National Association) on their freephone number 0808 8087777.