Cost-of-living squeeze: More than 460,000 Kiwis behind on debt payments [Video]

The number of Kiwis behind on their debt repayments remains high as people wrestle with rising inflation and a cost-of-living squeeze.

Credit company’s Centrix’s April Credit Indicator report showed consumer arrears climbed to 463,000 in March, up 6000 month-on-month.

This equals 12.7 per cent of the credit active population and is 7.4 per cent higher year-on-year.

Financial hardships also continued to increase, with reports rising since November 2022.

More than 12,900 accounts were reported to be in financial hardship in April, up 22 per cent year-on-year.

“Specifically, 44 per cent of hardships relate to mortgage payment difficulties, with the highest rate seen for those aged between 35 and 39,” Centrix managing director Keith McLaughlin said.

“Hardships are reported to credit reporting agencies by credit providers as part of their monthly CCR (comprehensive credit reporting) upload. Typically, this means the credit provider has approved a financial hardship application, and CCR reporting provides a mechanism to inform other credit providers of this …