As others said, as long as you're being transparent to authorities on how much you owe, it's typically not a crime - but it will likely attract interest and extra fees, possibly at punishing levels (depending on how you go about it).

In the end, it's in the interest of the State, like any other creditor, that you don't actually die of starvation (or worse). Getting a continued stream of money, even if smaller than you expected, is better than getting no money at all.