{"id":60760,"date":"2025-10-05T09:37:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/60760\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T09:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:37:10","slug":"thousands-of-teens-to-lose-jobseeker-benefit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/60760\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of teens to lose Jobseeker benefit"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Giles Dexter of RNZ<\/a><\/p>\n

Parents earning more than $65,000 must support their 18-19-year-old children, with the government tightening eligibility for Jobseeker benefits.<\/p>\n

From November 2026, there will be a parental assistance test for jobseekers and equivalent emergency benefits, with the government saying parents who can support their children should do so, instead of the state.<\/p>\n

First announced at the Budget, the government had not decided where to draw the line at the time.<\/p>\n

The policy was supposed to start from July 2027, but the government is bringing forward implementation.<\/p>\n

Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston said the new Parental Assistance Test would comprise:<\/p>\n

a parental income test, demonstrating whether their parents earned income at or below the income limit, and\/ora parental support gap test, demonstrating they could not reasonably be expected to rely on their parents for supportthe income limit would be set at an income cut-out point for a couple with children receiving the Supported Living Payment and would be adjusted annuallycurrently this limit is $65,529 and is expected to rise to reflect the annual general adjustment of benefit payments<\/p>\n

The government expected about 4300 young people would become ineligible for support and 4700 remained eligible in the 2027\/28 financial year.<\/p>\n

As at June 2025, Upston said 15,045 18-19-year-olds were on Jobseeker support.<\/p>\n

“Going on welfare when you’re young is a trap, with recent modelling suggesting that people under the age of 25 on Jobseeker support will spend an average of 18 or more years on a benefit over their lifetimes,” she said.<\/p>\n

When originally announced, the policy was expected to save $163 million over four years.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the student allowance income threshold is $69,935.32 before tax, with the rate going down, if parents earn more than that.<\/p>\n

If the joint earnings are $127,701.81 (if the student lives with their parents) or $137,187.86 (if they do not), the student does not receive an allowance at all.<\/p>\n

Upston also announced that 18-24-year-olds participating in the Ministry of Social Development’s community job coaching service could apply for a $1000 bonus payment, if they found a job and stayed off the benefit for 12 months.<\/p>\n

The policy will start in October 2026, with the first payments able to be accessed a year later.<\/p>\n

Currently, 4000 places exist in the job coaching scheme.<\/p>\n

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