Which AOW pension rate applies in your situation?

If you and your partner are living at separate addresses for financial or practical reasons, you will still get an AOW pension for a person living with another adult. 

If your relationship has ended, see ‘You are married or in a registered partnership, but you and your partner have separated’.

If you and your partner are separated and now living alone, you will each get an AOW pension for a person living alone. 

You are regarded as ‘separated’ if: 

• you or your partner no longer want to live together, and
• you live as though you were not together / not married, and
• that situation does not change

You and your partner are also regarded as ‘separated’ if one of you has made an application to the court for divorce.

If your divorce does not go through after all, please let us know

We will assess your situation

After you inform us that you have separated, we will assess your situation. It is not enough that you live at different addresses. For example, we also look at whether:

• you have stopped living together in the same house permanently
• you still contact each other, and if so, how often and for what purpose
• you have separate finances
• you still do things together, such as going on holiday or visiting family
• you care for each other in some way, for example you help each other if you are ill or have to go to the doctor, or you do the gardening or shopping for both of you, or for each other

Care that is regarded as necessary will not be taken into account. This is the case if you or your partner cannot manage without permanent assistance.

Example 1

John and Mary Fisher both get an AOW pension. They agree that their marriage is over, but they don’t want an official divorce. They live in separate houses and their finances are completely separate. They don’t have any contact with each other. John and Mary will each get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone.

Example 2 

Henry and Tanya Smith both get an AOW pension. They agree that their marriage is over, but they don’t want an official divorce. They live in separate houses but they still have a joint bank account. Tanya does the paperwork. Henry drives Tanya to and from hospital every month. Henry and Tanya will each get an AOW pension at the rate for a person who is married or sharing a household.

Example 3 

Nora and Mustapha both get an AOW pension. They agree that their marriage is over, but they don’t want an official divorce. They live in separate houses. Mustapha cannot walk without help. Every day, Nora helps him to wash and get dressed because he can no longer do this by himself. Nora and Mustapha will each get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone.

If you are married or in a registered partnership and your partner is living in a nursing home or sheltered housing for the long term, you will normally continue to receive an AOW pension for a person living with another adult. If you prefer, however, you can ask us to change your AOW pension to the rate for a person living alone.

It is not always better to change your pension to the rate for a person living alone

It may seem a good idea because you and your partner will receive more money. However, in most cases there are financial disadvantages because you may be charged a much higher personal contribution under the Long-term Care Act (Wlz) or Social Support Act (Wmo). 

For more information, you can contact the CAK.

Other consequences of choosing an AOW pension for a person living alone

• You will probably have to pay more tax
• The amount of healthcare benefit you can get from the Belastingdienst may go down
• The amount of rent benefit you can get from the Belastingdienst may go down
• If you receive a company pension, your company pension may also be affected.
• A change to your AOW pension may have consequences for benefits paid under the schemes for Victims of Persecution (Wuv) and Civilian War Victims (Wubo), and under the extraordinary pension schemes
• If one of you dies, the surviving partner will not be entitled to a death grant under the AOW scheme 

If you want to know what will happen if you opt for an AOW pension for a person living alone, we advise you to contact the Belastingdienst, the CAK and, if relevant, your pension fund. You can then decide whether or not to change your AOW pension to the rate for a person living alone.

If you opt for an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone  

You cannot change your and your partner’s AOW pension to the higher rate more than once. It is possible to change your pensions back to the rate for persons living with another adult, if you wish. But after that, you cannot change your pension rate again.

If you and your partner both have a home of your own, but you mostly live together in only one of them, you can still get an AOW pension at the rate for a single person, providing you both meet all the conditions for the ‘two-house rule’. Find out what the conditions are. 

NB: the two-house rule does not apply if one of the homes is a holiday home or recreational home. 

Conditions for the two-house rule

• You are not married 
• You each have your own home (whether rented or owner-occupied) or rented sheltered accommodation or communal housing, or accommodation based on usufruct or real right of occupation  
• you are both registered with the municipality as living at your own address  
• you each pay all the costs of your own home  
• you each have unrestricted use of your own home 

What do we mean by ‘unrestricted use of your own home’?

• You do not rent out your home 
• There is no one else living in your home (with the exception of your own child, stepchild or foster child under the age of 18) 
• No one else has the usufruct of your home 
• No one else has a real right of use or occupation of your home 
• Your home is connected to the water, electricity and gas networks

If you do not meet all the conditions for the two-house rule, we will assess whether you are sharing a household. 

If you are sharing a household, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living with another adult. 

If you are not sharing a household, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone.

If you have a partner but you are not married and either you or your partner has moved permanently into sheltered housing or a nursing home, you can still choose to keep your AOW pension at the lower rate for a person living with another adult (e.g. if this gives you a tax advantage), providing you meet the following conditions: 

• you inform us that both you and your partner wish to continue receiving your AOW pensions at the rate for a person living with another adult, and 
• you and your partner have a legal cohabitation agreement, or  
• you have a child together, or   
• the child of one partner has been acknowledged by the other, and  
• you and your partner both contribute to the household costs or care for each other in some other way

If you meet these conditions and you want us to keep paying your AOW pension at the lower rate for a person living with another adult, please contact us. 

If you would prefer us to pay your AOW pension at the higher rate for a single person instead, you do not have to do anything. This change will be made automatically.

If you are not married or in a registered partnership and you live with your child, you will get an AOW pension for a person living alone. It does not matter how old your child is.

If you are not married or in a registered partnership and you live with your father or mother, you will get an AOW pension for a person living alone.

If you are not married or in a registered partnership and you live only with your grandchild, you can get an AOW pension for a person living alone until your grandchild reaches the age of 18. 

If your grandchild is aged 18 or over, we will assess whether or not you have a ‘shared household’. If we decide you have a ‘shared household’, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living with another adult. If we decide you do not have a ‘shared household’, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone. 

Example 

Eileen has an AOW pension. She lives with her grandchild Michael, who is a student. Michael eats with her sometimes and does the shopping occasionally. He does not pay anything. Is Michael regarded as contributing to the household? No, his contribution is too small. Eileen therefore gets an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone.

If you rent out part of your house to someone, or if you rent accommodation yourself and live in the same house as your landlord or landlady, you probably have a ‘commercial relationship’ with each other. If so, you will not be regarded as living in a shared household. You can therefore get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone. 

For a ‘commercial relationship’, you must meet the following conditions:

• You live in the same house as 1 or more persons
• You rent a room to or from someone else. Either you are a lodger, or you have a lodger
• You have a written agreement with the other person
• You can prove that your relationship is commercial by showing a contract and bank statements
• You and the other person have a business relationship 

It is not possible to have a ‘commercial relationship’ with a person if you and that person:

• were married to each other in the past
• have lived together before
• have a child together (your own child or an acknowledged child)
• have a cohabitation agreement drawn up by a notary public

Example 

Monica has an AOW pension. She has a large house and rents part of it out to Caroline. Caroline has her own shower and toilet. They both use the kitchen but they never eat together. Agreements concerning the use of the house and the amount of the rent are laid down in a contract. Caroline transfers the rent every month from her bank account. This is a ‘commercial relationship’. Monica therefore gets an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone. 

Make sure to document your commercial relationship properly by using one of our model agreements.

If you live with your child and grandchild, and your grandchild is under 18, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone. 

If you live in the same house with your child and a grandchild over 18, we will assess whether you are ‘sharing a household’ with one or both of them. 

If you only have a ‘shared household’ with your child, you will get an AOW pension for a person living alone. Also, if all 3 of you contribute regularly to the household, you will still get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone because the persons concerned are your child and grandchild. 

If your child does not contribute to the household and you are only regarded as sharing a household with your grandchild, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living with another adult. 

See when you can get an AOW pension at the (lower) rate for a person living with another adult, or at the (higher) rate for a person living alone. 

1. You are regarded as having a shared household with 1 of these persons. In that case, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living with another adult 
2. You are sharing a household with 2 or more other adults. In that case, you will get an AOW pension for a person living alone 
3. If you do not share a household with anybody, you will get an AOW pension for a person living alone