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? asked in Business & FinanceTaxesAustralia · 2 years ago

Will dad lose part of his age pension if I pay him lodging ?

Update:

I am on disability pension and have schizophrenia, anxiety fear etc .. I live with my dad and he is on the age pension . He owns his house but with costs going up it is becoming a struggle. We have been wondering and want to come to an agreement where I will start paying him lodging though we are uncertain if this will affect his pension if I seek lodging assistance ? After doing some reading I see that it seems board and lodging affects his pension but not just lodging alone ? Is that correct ?

7 Answers

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  • garry
    Lv 6
    9 months ago

    if you tell them you dont charge him , then he wo not lose anything ,  the pension is the pension, after all hes means tested anyway.

  • 2 years ago

    Old age pensions are NOT means tested - by that I mean that regardless of whether he has $1 or $10m to his name - he will get $x in pension. So you giving him some board money, has NO bearing on what he gets.

    If he is claiming help with rent or other bills though, that MIGHT be dependent on his income though - but you say he owns his own house

  • 2 years ago

    Your father should not lose any of his pension if he charges you board and lodging (even if he collects rent assistance). He would not be making any income from you, just getting you to pay for your own share of living expenses.

    So as long as you say "board and lodging" and not rent, it should not affect his payment. You would receive additional from Centrelink in the form of "rent assistance" even though it is truly "board and lodging."

    He can still earn a certain amount of income each fortnight without it affecting his pension anyway, and even that after the first one or two thousand (what they call working credits). My son pays me $340AU a fortnight for all his living expenses. This does not actually cover all the expenses, but I encourage him to save, which he does, and we also share chores. I pay all the rent, gas, electricity, water, NBN and food etc. so all he has to pay is for his own vehicle running costs and entertainment. So he is far better off than leaving home.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    No.

  • Judith
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    Not if in the US. If only the two of your live together you should each be paying half the rent, utilities and food.

    Source(s): I was a SS claims rep for 32 yrs.
  • 2 years ago

    Your dad can receive income up to $ 4,472 per year without it affecting his age pension. This is $172 per fortnight. You may wish to verify that yourself with the tax office rather than accept my figure.

    It would then seem that you can claim rent assistance on this figure.

    Also, you could give him money as a family member living in his house, towards outgoings such as gas, electricity, Water, Council rates, property insurance etc. without claiming these on your Centerlink and without affecting his income and thus his pension.

    Do you give him money for food out of your pension? If not you should start doing that.

    Does your dad get any kind of carers allowance. Speak to Centerlink and see if he should be and whether it would affect his pension if he did.

  • ron h
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    What country are you in? Each country has different rules.

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