Overseas Kiwis struggle with massive interest, penalties on student loans
In April, interest rates for overseas borrowers were lifted from 3.9% to 4.9% and the late payment interest rate for all borrowers to 8.9%.
Tax barrister Dave Ananth said this is putting people off returning to New Zealand at a time we should be encouraging skilled people to come home.
A pilot who's been living in Australia for over 10 years has racked up a whopping $170,000 in student loan debt, most of it being interest.
After completing his training in 2014 he struggled to find work in Aotearoa, so he headed across the ditch, where he worked as a commercial pilot for six years.
ADVERTISEMENT
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and overseas travel all but ground to a halt, he was forced to take a low-paying job in a storage warehouse meaning he struggled to meet his loan payments.
The pilot, who RNZ's Checkpoint has agreed not to name, has since resumed flying for a regional carrier, but worried about an uncertain job market and whether he'd ever pay off his loan.
"This loan becomes an ongoing – it becomes a burden and it's not the fact the size of it. There's just no pathway forward as it currently stands."
'I just was deflated'
Checkpoint also spoke to a woman who was unable to come home to see her sick mother as she was scared, she'd be arrested at the border.
When she moved to the United States 20 years ago, her student loan debt was around $15,000. That had ballooned to close to $70,000.
"When they told me how much penalty fees that I had and that was 10 years ago when I first found out about the penalty fees and that was more than my initial student loan and interest combined, I just was deflated."
ADVERTISEMENT
She received emails from IRD threatening legal action if she didn't pay, but she said she couldn't afford it.
"You may think, 'oh no, I'm just going to go to a different country and make all my money there'.
"But at some point, in time, when you're older, you're going to want to go back to your roots and see family and friends. I just screwed that up for myself.
"Just don't get yourself in this situation like so many of us have where you can't even go home and see family when they're ill.
"I've been petrified something's going to happen to my mum and she's going to pass away and I'm not even going to be able to go there."
After getting legal help from former IRD prosecutor Dave Ananth, IRD agreed to wipe the penalty fees so she now need only pay the original $15,000 loan and interest.
80,000 overseas-based Kiwis with overdue payments
ADVERTISEMENT
Student loan. (Source: istock.com)
Ananth, who's a tax barrister with the law firm Stace Hammond, agreed there should be penalties for failure to pay but said these should be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
"A lot of them are telling me I've not heard from IRD for the last 10 years, but IRD's perspective is it's your obligation, you should contact.
"[It's] that sort of 'Who should contact? I'm away, you haven't rung me, there was no emails', that sort of thing. I think both sides need to come to the table."
He also wanted better communication between IRD and the student debtor.
"There should be a bit of leeway to say, 'Hey, OK you come in, but come back and talk to us and see whether a hardship application can be made, whether you can pay a few $100 for a start and then we can see how you go'."
"For a lot of them because the loan has been taken, 15, 20 years ago they've got their head buried in the sand, they don't want to deal with it. So, it creates a lot of anxiety, creates mental stress for a lot of people."
ADVERTISEMENT
In the year to March, there were about 80,000 overseas-based student loan borrowers with overdue repayments – that's an increase of 10% on the year before.
In total they owed $2.3 billion.
Ananth said many people had found the grass wasn't greener overseas.
"Everyone doesn't go overseas straight away and then lands in this cushy, $200,000, $300,000 job."
He said people working in healthcare, technology, and engineering should be prioritised to help plug gaps in the job market here.
Border arrests a last resort - IRD
Inland Revenue said between January 23 and February 7 this year they had emailed 3502 borrowers with overdue repayments telling them they're being monitored, and that enforcement may be taken against them.
ADVERTISEMENT
That could include being arrested at the New Zealand border.
But it said border arrests were a last resort, and it would work with people before taking legal action. One borrower in default had been arrested in the past year.
IRD said it could consider remission of late payment interest, but on a case-by-case basis.
It said borrowers often did not update their contact details when overseas making it harder for the department to contact them.
The student loan base interest rate was increased by one percent in the 2024 Budget and was intended to partially cover the loss in value of the scheme due to recent high inflation.
IRD did not set the student loan interest or late payment interest rates.
"Student loan interest that has been correctly charged on overseas based borrowers student loan accounts cannot be written off under current legislation, nor can Inland Revenue accept any agreement that voids a borrower's liability to repay this.
"We always encourage student loan borrowers to contact us directly to discuss their situation. There is no need to engage the services of a lawyer."
By Bella Craig for rnz.co.nz
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
12 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Tips to keep your power bill down this winter
Twenty percent of Kiwis are struggling to pay their power bills, with 11 percent cutting back on heating their homes, according to Consumer New Zealand's latest energy survey. Stats NZ figures show the price of electricity has gone up almost 9 percent in the past year. Some people have told Checkpoint they are in bed by 5pm to save on heating costs, while others take extreme measures, like turning off their hot water cylinder or bathing in cold water. However, Consumer NZ Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge told Checkpoint people could make significant savings on their bill, if they cut back on their energy use. "Typically, we would say [you can save] around 20 percent, if you're really disciplined." He said the price of energy had increased significantly, resulting in more people getting into energy hardship and struggling to pay their power bills. "One in five have experienced financial difficulty in paying their power bill over the last year and around the same number basically missed a payment because of that. That results in late fees, so the issue compounds." The top household energy user was hot water, amounting to around 30 percent of an average home's electricity bill. Fuge said this was followed by refrigeration at 17 percent and space heating at 15 percent. "Those are the biggest things that use energy and offer the biggest potential to save money." He said the most effective way was to get on to a time-of-use plan, enabling energy usage at times of day when the price was cheaper. "The price of electricity is constantly changing and it's higher when more people are using electricity. "That's early morning, when people are getting up and getting ready for work, and in the evening, when people are coming home. That's the highest price of electricity on the wholesale market." At times, like the middle of the night, when there is less demand for power, the price falls. "Retailers take advantage of this and buy electricity at lower cost periods, and pass those savings on through time-of-use plans." He said this included keeping your hot water cylinder on a timer, heating it up in the middle of the night, when electricity is often half the price, and again in the middle of the day, another off-peak time. Not every hot water cylinder operates on a timer system, typically only newer models. Fuge said the age of appliances also had a significant impact on its efficiency. "Modern appliances are much more efficient than the old ones, particularly things like fridges, but also hot water cylinders." While some may be tempted to power off the hot water cylinder completely to save costs, Fuge warned strongly against it. "We would not recommend doing that at all, because you can get diseases in the hot water cylinder, when the water's not hot enough, particularly legionnaires' disease, which sort of thrives in those warm stagnant water temperatures." He said another key energy drainer was the 'beer fridge'. "Modern fridges are way more efficient than the old fridges and that's a real saving. "We stick that old fridge at the bach or out in the shed, so you get an old inefficient appliance in an environment that it's not designed for and it's a perfect storm of badness in terms of electricity consumption." Fuge said, while the key way to save was a time-of-use plan, it wouldn't suit every household's needs perfectly. "If you can use those high-consumption appliances away from peak times and move them into cheaper times, there's some potential savings there, but I would caution that it requires discipline and it doesn't suit all households."
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Scoop
Catholic Church Voices Opposition To PNG's Christian Nation Declaration
Article – RNZ An archbishop from a township in East New Britain warns the constitutional amendment risks damaging the country's future. The Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea is telling the government it was wrong to declare PNG a Christian country. Earlier this year, the PNG parliament passed a constitutional amendment formally recognising the nation as a Christian country. Prime Minister James Marape declared he was happy to see this written into the country's constitution The Post-Courier reports the Rabaul Archbishop Rochal Tamutai warning that this threatens constitutional freedoms and risks damaging the country's future. He told a parliamentary committee that the 'claim that PNG is a Christian country is not supported by law.' He said the Catholic Church disagrees with the government's move, saying adding it conflicts with the constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. The archbishop's remarks cam amid a broader presentation on the influence of evolving technology on church authority, but he took the opportunity to confront what he called one of the major topics in PNG today. His concerns centres on the legal, social, and theological implications of attempting to legislate Christianity into state law. The archbishop said politicians are not theologians and risk entering spiritual territory without the understanding to handle it responsibly. And he asked 'if we declare PNG a Christian nation,' he asked, 'whose version of Christianity are we referring to? We're not all the same.' He warned of a future where attending church could become a legal obligation, not a matter of faith. 'If PNG is supposedly a Christian nation, police could walk into your village and tell you: it's not just a sin to skip church on Sunday it's illegal and get you arrested.' That's how dangerous this path could be.'
Scoop
16 hours ago
- Scoop
Pandemic Perspectives Focus Of COVID-19 Inquiry Public Hearing Next Week
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned will next week hear a range of perspectives on the pandemic as the Inquiry's first public hearing begins. The Inquiry's 'Pandemic Perspectives' public hearing will take place between Monday 7 July and Friday 11 July. This hearing will allow Commissioners to hear from groups, organisations, and individuals from around Aotearoa New Zealand about their experiences of the pandemic and the Government's response to COVID-19. 'The Pandemic Perspectives public hearing will allow us, in the open, to hear a range of experiences as well as suggestions for future pandemic responses. It is important we listen to these voices and ask key questions, so we can develop robust findings and recommendations,' says Grant Illingworth KC, Chair of the Inquiry. Individuals, organisations and experts will talk about the effects of key public health decisions, including social division and isolation, health and education, and business activity. Commissioners are focusing the hearing on three key areas of the Inquiry's terms of reference and that have been key themes raised in public submissions already received by the Inquiry: · Lockdowns in 2021, in particular the extended lockdown in Auckland and Northland from September 2021. · Vaccine approvals and safety. · Introduction and use of vaccine mandates throughout 2021 and 2022. The hearing schedule and list of witnesses is available on the Inquiry's website: A second and final public hearing will take place from 20 August to 27 August in Pōneke Wellington, where Commissioners will hear from key decision makers who led the Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and from senior public servants. 'As Commissioners, our job is to identify lessons from the country's COVID-19 response to ensure that as a nation, we can be better prepared for future pandemics,' says Mr Illingworth. 'Our goal is to provide recommendations – that can be understood by all New Zealanders – to help build a strong response for the future. 'We need a well-organised, resilient, robust defence, and we need to be able to come together as a country to face future pandemics.' Alongside the public hearings, the Inquiry has also held interviews with key decision makers, met with individuals and organisations who experienced the pandemic and the response to it, gathered 31,000 public submissions, and sought extensive written evidence from Government departments and other organisations. 'We are encouraged by and thank the 31,000 of you who shared your experiences through our recent public submissions process. I also thank the huge number of people and organisations we've met in engagements up and down the country. Your experiences and perspectives are vital to our work,' says Mr Illingworth. The 'Pandemic Perspectives' public hearing will be streamed on the Inquiry's website so it can be watched live by the public. Registered media will be able to attend the hearing for reporting purposes. A range of accessible resources will also be available during and after the hearings. Due to physical limitations, the Inquiry cannot accommodate members of the public.
