Which AOW pension rate applies in your situation?

If you are not married or in a registered partnership and you live alone, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone. Find out what other situations exist.

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 submitted a divorce petition to a court.

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

We will assess your situation

If 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 permanently stopped living together at the same address
• you are still in contact with 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 take care of 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 gardening or shopping for each other

Care 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 both get an AOW pension. They agree that their marriage is over, but they don’t want an official divorce. They live at separate addresses 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 both get an AOW pension. They agree that their marriage is over, but they don’t want an official divorce. They live at separate addresses, 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 living with another adult.

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 at separate addresses. 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, you can ask us to change your AOW pension to the rate for a person living alone. Under the law, however, you will still be regarded as married or in a registered partnership.

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

It may seem like 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 at the rate for a person living alone

• You will probably have to pay more tax
• The amount of healthcare benefit you can get from the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) may go down
• The amount of rent benefit you can get from the Belastingdienst may go down
• If you receive a company pension, this pension may also be affected
• A change in your AOW pension may have consequences for benefits paid under the schemes for Victims of Persecution (Wuv ) and Civilian War Victims (Wubo ) and for any extraordinary pension you receive
• 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 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 a person 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 person living alone, providing you both meet all the conditions for the ‘two-house rule’. Find out what the conditions are. 

IMPORTANT: 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 (rented or owner-occupied), rented sheltered accommodation, communal housing, or accommodation based on usufruct or a 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 does ‘unrestricted use of your own home’ mean?

• You do not rent out your home 
• There is no one else living in your home (except your own child or a stepchild or foster child under the age of 18) 
• No one else has a right of usufruct on 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 permanently moved 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 is beneficial for tax purposes), 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 officially 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, instead, you would prefer us to pay your AOW pension at the higher rate for a person living alone, you do not have to do anything. This change will be made automatically.

If you are married or in a registered partnership and you live with your partner, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living with another adult. Find out what other situations exist.

If you are not married or in a registered partnership and you live with your child, you will get an AOW pension at the rate 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 at the rate 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 at the rate 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 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, you may 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 relationship to be regarded as commercial, 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. 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
• cohabited in the past
• have a child together (your own child or an acknowledged child)
• have a cohabitation agreement drawn up by a notary

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 on the use of the house and the amount of the rent are laid down in a contract. Caroline pays 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 you document your commercial relationship properly by using one of our model agreements.

If you are not married and do not have a registered partnership, but live with your brother or sister or a housemate, we will assess whether you are regarded as sharing a household. If we decide that you are sharing a household, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living with another adult. If we decide that you are not sharing a household, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone.

If you are married to or have a registered partnership with 1 of them, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living with another adult. Find out what other situations exist.

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 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 share a household with your child, you will get an AOW pension for a person living alone. If you, your child and your grandchild all contribute regularly to the household, you may all have a shared household. In that case, you will still get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone. 

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 whether your AOW pension will be 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 this 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 persons over the age of 18 (multi-person household). In this case, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone 
3. You do not share a household with anybody. In this case, you will get an AOW pension at the rate for a person living alone 

If none of the situations apply to you, or you are unsure, fill in the questions under ‘Check your situation’.