What is regarded as a shared household under the AOW pension scheme?
If 2 people aged 18 or over live together and both regularly contribute to the household, they are regarded as sharing a household for the purposes of the AOW pension scheme. We will explain exactly what that means.
When are 2 people considered to be living together?
We look at the actual living situation to establish whether 2 people are living together. It does not matter whether they are registered as living at the same address or at different addresses.
Contributing to the household
People can contribute to the household in 2 ways:
- by making a financial contribution to household expenses (e.g. housing costs, living expenses or other costs)
- by looking after each other in some other way (e.g. by doing the cleaning, shopping, paperwork or cooking, or taking care of each other if one of them is ill)
Both forms of contributions must be significant and not just incidental. We will explain this by giving some examples.
Examples of contributing to the household
In the following examples we explain what the condition ‘significant and not just incidental’ means.
Anna has an AOW pension and lives in 1 house with her brother Rob. They share the household costs. Both of them take care of the cleaning and the weekly shopping. This means that they both contribute to the household and meet the condition. Anna and Rob are therefore regarded as sharing a household.
Els has an AOW pension. Her grandchild Mika is a student and lives with her. Mika cleans the house from time to time and occasionally does the shopping. The amount Mika pays is negligible. Mika does not meet the condition. Els and Mika are therefore not regarded as sharing a household.
Sasha has an AOW pension. She and her friend Bo live in 1 house.
Sasha cleans the house, does the shopping, cooks and does the laundry. Bo pays the household expenses.
They both contribute to the household and meet the condition. Sasha and Bo are therefore regarded as sharing a household.
Certain situations are always classed as sharing a household
For the purposes of the AOW pension scheme, some situations are always classed as sharing a household. In these situations, we do not assess whether a contribution is made to the household.
A shared household is regarded as existing if 2 persons live in 1 house and
- they have been married to each other
- they have previously lived together
- they have a biological or acknowledged child together
- they have a cohabitation agreement drawn up by a notary
- their household has already been classed as a shared household under another Dutch law or benefit scheme
Which AOW pension rate applies in your situation?
If the examples do not include your situation, or if you live with more than 2 persons aged 18 or over at 1 address, see the page ‘Which AOW pension rate applies in your situation?’