The Social Wellbeing Agency has published further insights into the nature of debt held by New Zealanders to government.
“These insights provide evidence of the causes and characteristics of persistent debt and debtors. They examine the persistence and types of debt to government, the links between public and private debt, and examine the number of people with children who have debts to government,” said Renee Graham. Chief Executive.
“All three areas can impact on household financial resources and the ability for people to care for their families.
“Our report indicates a clear interaction between public and private debt. People with debts to government are also more likely to have buy-now pay-later and private loans", she said.
The analysis also identified that 62% of the 713,000 people who owe debt to government are parents or share an address with a child. Debt to the Ministry of Social Development is the most common debt type to be owned by people with children.
Like the Agency’s previous debt analyses, these reports contribute to the work being done by a cross-sector group considering debt to government and the ways debt impacts on people in hardship, and how debt can be better managed. Read the reports:
Children-and-debt-Insights-report-v2.pdf [PDF, 303 KB]
Persistence of debt to government [PDF, 433 KB]
Research-report-public-and-private-debt-v4.pdf [PDF, 589 KB]
