Benefit System Update - July to December 2022

Overview

This report is the fourth to be published in the Benefit System Update (BSU) series. The BSU takes a longer-term and high-level view of key trends across the benefit system. This includes exploring trends for MSD’s priority groups, policy changes and the broader influence of the economy.

This includes trends for youth, seniors, sole parents, women, Māori, Pacific peoples, as well as people with health conditions and disabilities.

Key findings

This report finds that:

• The positive outcomes seen in the first half of 2022 continued through to December 2022.
• More people continued to leave the benefit system into employment, reflecting MSD’s sustained focus on supporting people into work and the strong labour market.
• The effect of the recent increases in main benefit rates and Working for Families has been partially reduced by the rising cost of living.