Darling said grandparents of a working age who choose to provide care for their grandchildren will be able to gain national insurance credits toward their basic state pension from 2011.
Sam Smethers, chief executive of charity Grandparents Plus, welcomed the new measure. "We know it's mostly women of a working age, on low income, providing the lion's share of grandparent childcare. They are also the ones with incomplete pension records," she said.
However, Darling failed to mention in his speech that grandparents must be caring for a child aged up to 12 and for more than 20 hours a week in order to qualify for the credits.
Smethers described the announcement as "victory for the principle that grandparents' roles in childcare is recognised and should be illustrated in other government policies".
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