All the changes that might affect your wallet from April 1
Brianna Mcilraith10:25, Mar 28 2022
Increases to benefits and the minimum wage will happen on April 1.
Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will receive some extra cash in their pockets from April 1. Here are the changes happening from Friday:
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE
The adult minimum wage will increase from $20 to $21.20 per hour.
For someone who works a 40-hour week on the minimum wage, this increase will give them an extra $48 a week, and almost $2500 more each year.
The minimum wage for starting-out and training will go up from $16.00 to $16.96 per hour.
That is compared to 3.5 per cent on the minimum wage in 2018.
The living wage, a measure designed to indicate the level of pay required to live a full life, was raised to $22.75 in September last year.
DISCOUNTED PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARES
From 1 April to 30 June 2022, funding will be provided for local government to implement half-price public transport fares. Halved to June 30
The fare discounts include key additional services that currently receive funding support from Waka Kotahi such as Capital Connection and Total Mobility.
The temporary measure is part of the Governments’ cost of living relief package, which was announced on March 14It includes the temporary fuel excise duty cut of 25 cent a litre for three months, as well as a 36 per cent cut in Road User Charges across all legislated rates from late April to late JULY 2022.
WORKING FOR FAMILIES TAX CREDIT
The incomes of about 346,000 families will increase by an average of $20 a week from April 1 as the Working for Families Tax Credits increase. It is expected to lift an estimated 6000 more children out of poverty.
There will also be an increase of the abatement rate for the Family Tax Credit from 25 per cent to 27 per cent. Those with family income less than $40,000 would benefit the most with an average increase of $26 per week.
SUPERANNUATION
Superannuation will increase by $52 per fortnight for a single person, and $80 for a couple. How much a person would receive depended on living situations and tax rates.
For a single person living alone the gross weekly rate would increase from $506.64 to $538.24, while a couple who both received superannuation would have their combined payment increase from $768.92 to $817.32.
OTHER BENEFIT INCREASES
All other benefits increase on April 1.
That includes jobseeker support, young parent payment, disability allowance, childcare assistance, student allowance and student loan living costs.