12% of households in NZ are currently facing serious financial difficulty
Emerging research from The Commission for Financial Capability has found that 10% of Kiwis are actually earning more now than they were pre-COVID.
Impact of COVID-19 on Financial Wellbeing, which looked at over 3,600 households in New Zealand, pinpointed that one third of people were earning less – with 11% on a ‘severely reduced’ income.
Households which included Māori or Pasifi members were found less likely to have higher incomes when compared to February 2020.
A further 12% of households in NZ are currently facing serious financial difficulty and struggling to pay bills.
“41% of households were not in difficulty but had little financial resilience (exposed households) and were at risk of difficulty if their income declined,” the report stated.
“In April, many of these households experienced loss of income or felt they were at risk of loss of income, but in October much of this anxiety subsided as incomes in this segment recovered well.
“The high levels of consumer debt and low levels of savings means improving financial resilience of these households should remain a priority. Households in this segment increased their saving levels which suggests some of them realised the precarity of their financial situation.”
