Taking a redundancy could see workers forced to live on minimum wage for at least six months, with the government increasing the waiting period for welfare for people with savings.

The little-noticed budget measure will see waiting periods increased for single people with more than $12,000 in the bank seeking to apply for welfare, increasing to $24,000 for couples or a single with dependants.

For someone with at least $18,000 in the bank, the waiting period will increase to 26 weeks. Previously, the government had capped waiting periods at 13 weeks for anyone with $11,500 or more in liquid assets, or $23,000 for couples.

Social Services Minister Christian Porter said the increase was "to ensure job seekers remain self-reliant and focused on securing work before entering the welfare system".