Rotorua beneficiaries are piling up large Work and Income bills to cover essential costs, a local budget adviser says.
As of June 30, 15,767 Bay of Plenty recipients of a main benefit owed more than $38 million to the Ministry of Social Development, the umbrella organisation of Work and Income. Main benefits included welfare such as Jobseeker and Sole Parent support but didn't include superannuitants.
The debtors - 60.8 per cent of total main benefit recipients in the Bay - owed an average of $2412.41. This was slightly below the national average of $2532.86. Rotorua-specific data was unavailable.
Rotorua Salvation Army community ministries manager and budget adviser Shelly Fischer said 99 per cent of beneficiaries she dealt with owed money to Work and Income. "Most end up in debt because they get advance payments for essentials like washing machines, school supplies, rent arrears and power arrears," she said. "A smaller number have debt because they commit benefit fraud by living with a partner without telling [Work and Income] so they both receive single benefits, or because they were working and claiming a benefit."
Beneficiaries often lapsed into rent and power bill arrears because they were juggling other debts, she said. Ms Fischer also often met people with considerable debt from payday loans which were available online without credit checks.
