Retirement village residents incensed by ‘homeowner’ tag
Older Australians who paid large upfront sums to live in retirement villages are arguing they should no longer be categorised as “homeowners” by Centrelink because they are left so much worse-off under the government’s pension changes.
As of January 1, if a person made an upfront contribution of more than $200,000 to live in a retirement village, they are categorised as a “homeowner” by Centrelink — a nomination that has a bearing on their pension payment.
Those categorised as “homeowners” have smaller asset limit thresholds when compared to “non-homeowners” before both the full pension and part pension payments cut out.
This is because they are deemed to have the extra security of a family home on which to draw down on.
But some residents of retirement villages who paid an upfront entry cost of more than $200,000 believe their classification as “homeowners” is unfair, especially given many of them do not actually own homes.