Winter energy payment

Brrrrr. It’s autumnal out there and the chill winds of Government are blowing golden promises away with the leaves. If you’re feeling the temperature drop, you might be one of a million New Zealanders who qualify for the new $700 Winter Energy Payment ($700 for couples, $450 for singles).

It’s an amount of money you can spend on anything – if you fancy some firewood, feel free.

Alternatively if you desire more biscuits and a new woolly jumper, don’t worry as no-one is looking.

The million lucky winners of the Government’s Winter Energy lottery are those on benefits and our large population of retirees on superannuation.

For the beneficiaries, the payment will be welcome and warmly received.

For the retired, I’m not so sure. This payment grates – a fiddled promise right from the start.

Here we are at the beginning of May shivering and expecting this Winter Energy Payment to begin. It was promised to run from May to October. Well, layer up. It’s not arriving until July, but the delay is the least of your problems.

Here’s the bad news for the nation’s pensioners. You were all expecting a $700 increase to your pension this year (couples). You’re not getting it. It has been reduced to $413. Singles now only get $265.98.

How can this be possible? National’s preelection promise was a $680 increase to your superannuation. Labour marginally trumped it, but dressed it up as a $700 Winter Energy Payment (no means-testing or monitoring, but the label was good public relations). Both sides in the election wooed you and that’s why a haircut of almost $300 is worth hollering about.

The fiddling started right from the beginning. Labour made the $700 promise in July 2017. Originally, they stuck in a little proviso that you’d have to apply for it. They were upfront with the reason. It would save them money, as only 80 per cent of people would bother. Payable from May to Oct – 22 weeks Couples $700 ($31.82 a week) Singles $450 ($20.46 a week) NZ Super Veteran’s Pension Jobseeker Support Student Hardship Sole Parent Support Supported Living Payment Youth Payment Young Parent Payment Emergency Benefit