Associate Finance Minister and Act leader, David Seymour has suggested there could be more raises to come for minimum wage workers following today's boost, as the Government is remaining committed to "moderate increases".

Thousands of Kiwis will benefit from a cash boost from today through various Government payments such as benefits, superannuation, minimum wage, Working for Families and Best Start tax credits.

This comes, however, as the country is also hit in the pocket with a number of new charges - including a hike to the trust tax rate and the introduction of road user charges for electric vehicles.

The minimum wage has been increased by 2% to $23.15 an hour.

Talking to Newstalk ZB this morning, Seymour was asked whether the cash windfalls would be enough to help the beneficiaries keep up with inflation and the cost of living - the minister was sure it would provide adequate support.

"These annual adjustments are based on either the inflation rate - which is about 4.7% - or increases in the average wage depending on which benefit it is - that's about 5.3%," he told Holiday Breakfast.

"So each year these adjustments are deliberately set to match inflation."

However, Seymour said he suspected many people wouldn't agree that the money boosts would reflect the changing economy due to Kiwis having "a tough time" as the economy goes.

"Nonetheless, the Government has this automatic mechanism which happens on April First every year, and it's designed to keep up with the cost of living."

When asked whether the Government would be looking at increasing the minimum wage again, Seymour's response was a positive one for those working in lower-income jobs.

"Yeah - our Government is committing to moderate increases in the minimum wage, but I think you also need to put the minimum wage into context," the associate minister said.

Seymour explained since the previous Labour Government had been elected, the minimum wage amount had spiked from $15.75 back in 2016 to the $23.15 figure announced today - an increase of close to fifty per cent over six years.

However, while inflation "has gone up a lot", Seymour said its increase of twenty per cent was less than half as quick the increase as the minimum wage.

"If you look at average wages, they've gone up a bit faster than inflation but not much. So the minimum wage has gone up much quicker than just about everything else these last six years," he said.

"This Government is moderating that, frankly because those people trying to run businesses have had the Government's welfare objectives put onto them and they're also really hurting."

Seymour also provided some context to the minimum wage figures in general when asked whether a 2% increase on last year would be enough for the workers earning the figure to keep up with current inflation - he said it's important to remember the life circumstances of the earners.

He said the number of minimum wage workers who are the main income earner of their family was a "very small portion" of the country - only a couple of per cent of the workers.

"When we talk about minimum wage we often have the image of somebody who is the only and biggest earner in a household [that] has a big family of kids they're trying to support," said Seymour.

"Often they're students, a partner working part-time but with a fulltime breadwinner elsewhere in the household.

"So when we look at minimum wage, it's not designed to be a way of raising income - it's not a good way of increasing income because it has a whole lot of effects on employment, it means some people don't get jobs at all because employers can't afford to employ."

FinCap chief executive Ruth Smithers told the Herald any money going into people’s pockets is a good thing and would no doubt alleviate cost of living pains.

“However, I suspect that it will be a little bit in a big ocean of debt for some people.”

Māngere Budgeting Services Trust chief executive Lara Dolan said any increase would be good for her clients because they came from vulnerable communities.

“Anything that gives them more money to spend because they spend money on food, accommodation, transportation. They cannot afford any luxuries.”

Dolan echoed Smithers’ sentiments, saying: “I understand we are in a difficult financial situation for New Zealand at the moment and the Coalition Government is doing as much as they can, but from my perspective, it’s not enough.”

She said the service has one client on a benefit whose accommodation costs $596 a week but her benefit is only marginally more at $650.

“How is that enough?”