Rotorua's elderly just getting by on Winter Energy Payment

Wieland Hartwig and his wife Chintana Umtong still think twice before putting the heater on. Photo / Andrew Warner

The elderly are still gritting their teeth through the cold and struggling to cover heating costs despite getting an income boost to help with power payments.

The Winter Energy Payment for 2020, which runs for 22 weeks from May 1 to October 1, has been doubled, meaning eligible couples and people with dependent children are set to get $63.64 a week and single people $40.91 a week.

It is an extra payment to help with the cost of heating homes over the winter months.

According to the Ministry of Social Development, 10,726 received superannuation in the Rotorua District in the March quarter, and all recipients qualified for the winter payment.

Superannuation is $847.66 a fortnight for someone who lives alone or with a dependent child, $782.44 for those who live with someone who is not a dependent child, and $652.04 for each person in a couple.

Rotorua's Wieland Hartwig said the money they received was usually just below what he and his wife needed to pay for power.

Wieland Hartwig and his wife Chintana Umtong still think twice before putting the heater on. Photo / Andrew Warner

Despite the payment, he said he would think twice before putting the heat pump on and instead put on an extra jersey or used extra blankets.

He says the payment "really helps". It meant the couple did not need to make drastic cuts to what they were spending when the cold struck.

The couple's only source of income was the pension.

Hartwig said they struggled a bit financially when the payment ended last year. He anticipated that to happen again in October.

Grey Power Rotorua president Miriam Ruberl said how people chose to use the income boost was a personal matter.

Ruberl said it was important the Government recognised that seniors were going to bed early to keep warm and that some seniors died from suffering in cold temperatures.

Grey Power Rotorua president Miriam Ruberl suspects people are saving the extra money from the payment or putting it towards general payments. Photo / File

Superannuation would not equate to the living wage at 40 hours a week, which made the extra money crucial, she said.

"The fact that it's been repeated is indicative that it is necessary."

Rotorua Salvation Army Lieutenant Kylie Overbye said the army had been giving out warm blankets and hotwater bottles this winter.

Rotorua Budget Advisory Service manager Pakanui Tuhura said that, as the money was not made directly to power companies, there was no real way to determine how the money was spent.

"Keeping warm is a basic need," he said.

"The colder the weather the higher the cost and, if they have a limited budget, then that cost is taken out of somewhere else."

He was unaware of people using the Winter Energy Payment for other expenses.

Rotorua Budget Advisory Service manager Pakanui Tuhura says there's no real way to know how the money is spent. Photo / File

"However, even with the payment, some people are still not able to meet their heating needs and will do things like wrapping up in warmer clothes and seek free or cheap firewood.

He said the change in legislation requiring all rental properties to be insulated helped as the cost of heating a well insulated house cheaper than heating a damp, uninsulated home.

"The elderly in rest homes should be okay but those living at home have developed their own strategies over the past to deal with the colder days and nights."

He said that, in previous years, those who were worse off in winter were the homeless, followed by low-income households with high rent or mortgage payments.

He said these households had to choose between their basic needs of food, accommodation or warmth.

"Being cold doesn't discriminate in terms of age, sex or race."

He said the payment put more money in people's pockets to pay for their basic needs.

"The vast majority of people out there would agree with that. If there are people out not using the payment for what it was intended for then they are definitely in the minority."

The Ministry of Social Development Minister said the doubling of the payment this year was designed to boost incomes through the first phase of the Covid-19 recovery, as "an important economic stimulus".

"The reality is that people's expenses go up over winter largely because of heating costs and the Winter Energy Payment is an acknowledgment of this. It helps meet those expenses for older New Zealanders and people on main benefit."

Those who are struggling to make payments are urged to contact the Ministry of Social Development to work through options for support.