Purpose
This report describes the eligibility settings, rates of payment, and recipient obligations for payments within the New Zealand income support system as at 1 July 2022. It then uses four example families to illustrate how the different payments in the income support system make up each family’s incomes, and how their income changes when they move into work.
Methodology
Example families receiving income support
This section presents four example families who receive income support payments and shows the amount and make up of their income and how their incomes change as they move into paid work.
For the example families that follow it is assumed that:
- the families do not receive hardship assistance aside from Temporary Additional Support
- they are not making Student Loan repayments, child support payments, or KiwiSaver contributions
- they have taken up all the financial assistance they are entitled to
- payment rates are as at 1 April 2022
- when working they earn minimum wage
- they remain on benefits until it is more financially advantageous to be off benefits
- there are no additional work-related costs such as transport or childcare
- it is winter and they receive the Winter Energy Payment while receiving a main benefit
- people are in a stable private rental situation, paying lower-quartile market rent in South Auckland, and take up Accommodation Supplement
- Working For Families entitlements are received as a weekly payment rather than as a fortnightly payment or end-of-tax-year lump sum
- all benefit abatement is based on weekly income, rather than annual income (in practice, Sole Parent Support and Supported Living Payment recipients can elect to have their benefit abated based on annual rather than weekly income) all income tax calculations are based on weekly income, rather than as an average weekly share of the annual income
- work refers to paid work.