The State Pension is a regular payment from the government most people can claim when they reach State Pension age.
Your State Pension is based on the National Insurance (NI) contributions you have paid, or have been treated as paying, or been credited with, during your working life.
There may be different parts in your State Pension, for example, basic State Pension and additional State Pension.
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But it was recently discovered 150,000 people could be missing out on an increase in their State Pension.
Only 5,209 people claimed Carer's Credit in 2020, a drop from 6,489 in the previous year, according to a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Quilter.
This credit counts towards State Pension entitlement. Quilter said this is despite the increasing number of people who became unpaid carers last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports Daily Record.
In June last year, figures showed the number of unpaid carers increased by an estimated 4.5m to 13.6m across the UK, according to six charities supporting Carers Week.
In April this year, Quilter found only 20 per cent of the approximate overall eligible population received Carers Credit, as just 40,673 carers have claimed.
In 2015, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimated around 200,000 carers are eligible for the credit with women making up a substantial proportion of claimants and according to Quilter, it is expected this number has increased since 2015.
People who don't get Carer's Allowance but do care for someone may be eligible for Carer's Credit, which counts towards State Pension entitlement, as does Carer's Allowance.
For Carer's Credit, a person must be aged between 16 and State Pension age. They must also look after one or more people for at least 20 hours per week.
Anyone who is unsure as to whether they qualify can apply using the online form on the GOV.UK website here.
Income, savings or investments will not affect eligibility for Carer's Credit.
Quilter explained how each annual credit missed could cost a person 1/35th of the value of the State Pension - this works out at around £260 per year or £5,200 over the course of a typical 20-year retirement.
Olivia Kennedy, financial planner at Quilter said: “In this unprecedented year it is inevitable that we will have seen a dramatic increase in the already sizeable unpaid carer population.
"Throughout the pandemic, they have continued to prop up support services.
"However, these people sometimes don’t even recognise themselves as carers or the extent of the sacrifice they are making.
"Thinking of their own long-term financial wellbeing is crucial and the state pension is a big part of that, particularly as it’s money they rightfully deserve."
