My sister will be 62 in May 2020. She is eligible for a small pension from a job she worked. Do I have to turn that over to nursing home?

Yes, if she is on Medicaid her pension will go towards her care. Has she been collecting SS disability? If not, she will needed to apply to SS 2 months before her 62 birthday and that money will also go towards her care.

Does she not have a personal needs account? This money can be used for whatever she needs.

Yes, if medicaid is paying for her nursing home costs, all of her income has to go to the nursing home. And its not cheating her out of her money either. They will allow her to keep $30-$60 a month (however much your state allows). You can use that money to purchase necessities for her.

If she is on medicaid she will be allowed to keep only the allowance that is allowed by medicaid for her own clothing, and etc. Everything else that comes to her will go to her care.

Pamela, can you give a little more info, like: is she on Medicaid? If so and now she has an increase in her income (pension) this will need to be reported when you do her annual Medicaid app and it may affect her eligibility. Between the time she starts receiving the extra income and the time you fill out her app, you will need to keep every receipt for the items you purchase for her. If the pension is small enough she may still qualify for Medicaid but the county will take most of her total income and leave her a small amount, just like before.

In my experience the NH doesn't buy clothes for residents, but they do "repurpose" the clothes of those who have passed. I've found clothes in my MIL's drawers that were donated to her if they thought she needed them. This is in addition to the clothes we purchase for her.

If your sister's not on Medicaid then I don't understand what you mean by "turn that money over to the nursing home".

If she is on LTC Medicaid, the pension will have to be reported to Medicaid. They will probably say it goes directly to nursing home as part of her share of cost.