Renting a room is a hot topic for those trying to manage on a fixed income and after reading a recent article on YourLifeChoices, Tony would like to know how his Age Pension will be affected by providing homestay to students.
Q. Tony
After reading the your recent article on renting a room, my wife and I expressed an interest to the University of Adelaide regarding providing homestay for overseas students.
This arrangement would occur in blocks of five or 10 weeks and any payment we receive would be fully inclusive of meals, accommodation, utilities, outings, etc.
How would this income affect our Age Pension? We are on full Age Pension and receive an annuity of approximately $1600 per quarter.
Would we assess our additional income on the basis of 20 per cent as indicated in your article? This would come in at well below the $162 allowable income per fortnight.
A. Firstly, you would need to confirm with Centrelink that your homestay agreement with the university meets the criteria to allow you to have only 20 per cent of any income assessed.
Secondly, the income threshold accounts for all your income. If you receive an annuity of $1600 per quarter, then this amounts to around $266 per fortnight. Any income you receive from your homestay will be added to this income and assessed.
Lastly, you are assessed as a couple so the income threshold that currently applies is $288 per fortnight. This would indicate that you can only receive a net income of $22 per fortnight from any homestay you provide. For every dollar of income you receive over this threshold, your Age Pension will be reduced by 50 cents.
