AOW supplementary allowance
AOW supplementary allowance is an extra amount paid on top of the AOW pension. Before 2015, supplementary allowance was payable for a partner, providing:
- the partner was under AOW pension age, and
- the partner had little or no income of their own
The supplementary allowance scheme was discontinued in 2015. If you already received a supplementary allowance before 2015, you can continue to receive it as long as you meet the qualifying conditions.
Your AOW supplementary allowance will stop permanently in the following situations:
- When your partner reaches his or her AOW pension age
- If you or your partner passes away
- If you move to a country with which the Netherlands does not have an agreement on the verification of Dutch benefit entitlements
- If your partner’s income rises above the limit for payment of a supplementary allowance.
Exceptions: when can supplementary allowance be paid again after it has been stopped?
If your AOW supplementary allowance was stopped because your partner’s income was too high, and your partner’s income then drops below the limit again, you may be able to receive a supplementary allowance again if:
- your partner’s income exceeded the limit for no more than 3 months
- your partner’s income exceeded the limit for more than 3 months due to a different reason each month
- your partner has had varying income for more than 3 months but less than 12 months.
- your partner is self-employed or a freelance worker and their income has been above the limit for 12 consecutive months, but the average income for the past 3 years as established by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) is still below the limit. This averaging rule was cancelled as from 1 January 2023. The last period for which an average can be calculated is the period from 2022 to 2024
If you believe one of these exceptions applies to you, please contact us.
Income received by your partner is often deducted from the supplementary allowance.
Not all of your partner’s income sources affect your supplementary allowance. For example, income from assets, holiday pay, or an annuity (if taken out by your partner) are not taken into account.
Your partner’s income from work, such as gross wages, an end-of-year bonus or profit from enterprise are only partly deducted from the AOW supplementary allowance. Here’s how it works:
- The first €290.16 of the gross income is disregarded.
- Two thirds of the income from work above that amount are deducted from the supplementary allowance
- You cannot get a supplementary allowance if your partner earns more than €1,743.45 gross per month
Other income received by your partner, such as a pension or benefit, is deducted in full from the supplementary allowance. You cannot get a supplementary allowance if your partner’s income other than from work is more than €968.86 gross per month.
If you want to know if your partner’s income is deducted from the supplementary allowance, please contact us.
Extra reduction if both partners have income.
If your and your partner’s joint income is more than €3,384.44 gross per month, your supplementary allowance is reduced by up to 10%. Your own income is taken into account only for this extra reduction.
If your partner starts earning less, or stops working, you may get a higher supplementary allowance.
Make sure to report changes in your partner’s income
If your partner’s income changes, your supplementary allowance may go up or down, or stop altogether. Whether or not you need to report the change to us will depend on the type of income.