\u201cPractitioners are seeing debts getting harder to resolve… 64% say debts are more complicated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t confined to any one group either, with 65% seeing more middle-income clients and 40% seeing more higher-income clients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cost of living (91%) and housing affordability (81%) are the biggest struggles clients face trying to pay off debt, the report said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryday Kiwis are facing tremendous pressure, matched only by the pressure on the sector itself,\u201d Manase said.<\/p>\n
Last month, North Harbour Budgeting financial mentor David Verry told Herald NOW\u2019s Ryan Bridge that queues at budgeting services were getting longer<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got clients who have household incomes over $200,000 down to people who are purely living on benefit income,\u201d Verry said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to like to be back to people within 24 hours of them contacting us. Some budget services now have a two or three week wait to actually get in front of a financial mentor to just start discussing their budget to try and find the solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n Record numbers of Kiwis are turning to KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals to seek relief from cost-of-living pressures.<\/p>\n Inland Revenue figures show KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals for the first quarter of the current financial year are already up 22.5% to $134.6 million<\/a>, compared to the same period a year ago.<\/p>\n September was also a record month for hardship withdrawals ($48.9m) and the number of people dipping into their retirement funds (5530).<\/p>\n In the last financial year (12 months to June 2025), $470.7m was taken out of KiwiSaver for hardship reasons<\/a>, up 56.6% from $300.5m over the prior period.<\/p>\n Manase said reaching out early to financial mentors matters, but many people don\u2019t engage because they feel embarrassed or overwhelmed.<\/p>\n \u201cCompounding this is a concerning lack of awareness that free support is available through financial mentors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n