Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ / Quin Tauetau
While the surging number of beneficiaries is plain to see, there is a struggling layer of people who feel out of sight: the “invisible unemployed”.
They have too much to qualify for a benefit, but not enough to make ends meet.
Paul, 58, who lives in Upper Hutt, worked in a library but was made redundant in November.
” almost immediately went to WINZ [Work and Income] to get registered and found that due to the level of my wife’s income and also our current assets, I was not eligible for any form of support.”
His wife earns $66,000.
The Ministry of Social Development website said a married, civil union or de facto couple without children did not qualify for Jobseeker Support if they jointly earned more than $1039 weekly (before tax).
They could not get the accommodation supplement, because they had more than the limit of $16,200 in the bank.
Paul was disappointed and frustrated.
“You … work, you pay your taxes and you do what everybody says you should, which is save money and be careful with it.
“And then when you are made redundant through no choice of your own and you’ve still got as many bills to pay, but your income is more than halved, you find out that until you’ve reduced your assets down to a very low level, you’re not eligible for any support at all.”
Paul said Work and Income said it could help, if they had less money in the bank.
But he said he and his wife had worked hard to save that money and did not want to “fritter it away”.
“Unexpected things happen and you sometimes need reserves if big bills come along,” he said.
Paul was also ineligible for the Community Services Card, which helps with the cost of health care and public transport.
Even that would be a huge help, he said.
The job hunt was proving difficult and in a tight labour market, Paul found himself unable to secure interviews for roles he was “highly qualified” for.
He was also studying part-time towards a Bachelor of Counselling, but because he was halfway through his second year, he was unable to switch to full-time – meaning he could not get Studylink support.
In the meantime, Paul said: “We’re stuck in this limbo land of having too much but not enough.”
Emma-Jean Kelly was a senior historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in Wellington until August last year, when she was made redundant.
Her husband’s salary, about $80,000, meant she did not qualify for a benefit.
“Despite earning ‘too much’ we still have a mortgage, rates, we have financially supported my 89-year-old dad for many years, helped out other family during their difficult times, cost of living is crazy … our small savings will be exhausted soon,” she said.
“I wonder how many more invisible unemployed there are like me?”
When Kelly was working, she ate and drank at Wellington’s cafes and restaurants, went to plays and gigs, supported local journalism through subscriptions, bought New Zealand books at Unity Books and shopped for gifts, supplies, clothes and accessories in town.
“I can do none of those things anymore, impacting on other people’s income too.”
Budgeting service struggling to help
Financial mentor Heather Lange says the number of homeowners seeking her organisation’s budgeting advice has spiked. 123RF
Financial mentor Heather Lange who managed Family Finances Services Trust in Upper Hutt knew the “invisible unemployed” well.
Lange said the number of homeowners seeking her organisation’s budgeting advice spiked from four in the year to March 2023, to 39 the following year, and 40 last year.
The same pattern was true of people approaching the trust after losing their job: 18 in 2023, 49 in 2024, and 65 last year.
Often, for people like Paul or Kelly, there was not much the service could do aside from help comb through spending and identify any non-essentials to cut back on.
“It certainly doesn’t feel very great working with a family who are thinking, surely there must be some help and having to say, ‘no, you earn too much to get any help’,” said Lange.
Lange said more people were doing a KiwiSaver hardship withdrawal to cover the gap – but that was only enough money for three months.
While she would “always argue” for benefit thresholds to increase, Lange said housing costs were the biggest problem.
Some of her clients’ mortgage or rent payments were so high that a single income could not cover them, let alone any other costs.
“We’ve just normalised spending a huge portion of your income on housing, and so even taking a couple who earn a really good income, you shouldn’t really be paying more than about a third of that good income in housing costs,” she said.
“If it wasn’t that everybody was having to spend so much on their housing, the crunch wouldn’t feel quite so awful.”
The Minister for Social Development Louise Upston has been approached for comment.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
