Barbara’s mother has been living in a nursing home for six months and is worried about the new assessment.
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Q. Barbara
My mother is in a nursing home, and has been there for 18 months. She is 95. I live in her house; my daughter lives there as well with her children. I have power of attorney. Before moving into the nursing home, my mother had lived in the house for 16 years. It is her only asset. Can Centrelink take her pension when she has been in the nursing home for two years?
A. You are correct that after two years in care, Centrelink will count her former home as an asset and her pension may be reduced as a result.
After two years, you mother will be assessed as a non-homeowner and the full price of her former home will be assessed as an asset.
Based on the current asset test limits, if the home is worth more than $473,750 but under $782,500 she will still receive a part pension. If the home is worth more than $782,500 she will lose her pension.
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