Social grants are a crucial source of income for many of the country’s financially vulnerable households; the South African Social Security Agency aims to ensure those who qualify to receive them. But what is of utmost importance, is for beneficiaries to know whether applications for each grant are currently open.
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) serves the purpose of providing social security services to all eligible South Africans. The Agency’s social grant beneficiaries include qualifying children, older persons, and people with disabilities.
As a result, it is just as important for each of these beneficiaries to be aware, of if and when applications for these social grants are open in addition to how to apply for them.
The Older Person’s Grant
Sassa avails this grant to financially assist older people through their senior years. People 60 years of age or older are considered eligible to receive an older person’s grant. The old age pension was the previous name for this payment. Beneficiaries will receive R1 980 per month. If you are older than 75 years, you will get R2 000. To qualify for this grant you must:
- Be a South African citizen, permanent resident, or refugee
- Live in South Africa
- Not receive any other social grant for yourself
- Not being cared for in a state institution
- Not earn more than R86 280 if you are single or R172 560 if married.
- Not have assets worth more than 1 227 600 if you are single or R2 455 200 if you are married.
To apply, beneficiaries are required to visit their nearby Sassa office and bring the following supporting documents and follow the instructions listed below.
- Your 13-digit bar-coded identity document (ID). If you don’t have an ID: Complete an affidavit in a standard Sassa format in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths who is not a Sassa official.
- Bring a sworn statement signed by a reputable person (like a councilor, traditional leader, social worker, minister of religion, or school principal) who can verify your name and age.
- Your fingerprints will be taken by a Sassa official. While your application is being processed, you will be sent to the Department of Home Affairs to apply for the ID. Your grant will be put on hold if you fail to obtain an ID.
Fill out the application form while the Sassa official is present; note that only you as the applicant or a SASSA official may complete the application form. After speaking with you, the office will determine if you are eligible for the grant.
A receipt will be provided to you. Keep it as evidence that you applied. Your application might be processed for up to three months.
The Child Support Grant
Applicants may be eligible for the child support grant if they need assistance raising the child that they are caring for. Qualifying children will now receive their baseline Child Support Grant (CSG) of R480 plus an additional R240 (50% of the basic CSG), for a total of R720.
To qualify for this grant applicants must meet the requirements specified below:
- Be the primary caregiver for the child (e.g. parent, grandparent, or a child over 16 heading a family) Demonstrate that you are the child’s primary carer if you are not the biological parent. This can be done by providing an affidavit from a police officer or social worker’s report.
- Be a South African citizen or permanent resident.
- Not earn more than R52 800 per year if you are single. If you are married, your combined income should not be above R105 600 per year.
Additionally, the child must reside with the primary caregiver, be under the age of 18, and not be receiving care in a state facility. Both the caregiver and child must reside in South Africa.
Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant
The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant is a short-term assistance programme intended for people who are in such extreme financial need that they are unable to provide for their families’ most necessities. Eligible beneficiaries receive R350 monthly.
Applications for the current cycle SRD grant can be done online in the following way.
How to apply for the SRD grant online
- Go to srd.sassa.gov.za
- Scroll to the ‘How do I apply for this SRD Grant’ section
- Click on the yellow bar which says ‘click here to apply online
- Enter your mobile number
- Click “send SMS”
- Then enter the one-time pin that Sassa has sent to the number
- Continue the application process by filling in the steps required by Sassa
Alternatively, applicants can apply for the SRD grant through WhatsApp using the steps listed below
- Add 082 046 8553 as a contact on your phone
- Go on WhatsApp and send a message saying ‘hi’ to this number
- You will then receive a response and you should then respond by saying ‘help’
- You will be given various options, reply saying ‘4’
- This will lead you to the Unathi Sassa platform message which you should reply ‘SRD’ to
- You then have to confirm whether you’re applying for yourself or someone else
- Now the actual application begins and you’ll have to submit your name, surname, and ID number in the message.
- You will then receive a message on Whatsapp stating the next steps.
An applicant must also authorize Sassa to verify his or her identification, address, income, or social security benefits to access or have their SRD grant application taken into consideration. Additionally, applicants must agree to the declaration and consent.
Disability Grant
Those who apply for a disability grant must have a developmental disability that renders them unable to work for longer than six months to be considered eligible.
Applicants receive a temporary disability payment if their disability lasts for fewer than six months but more than 12 months, and a permanent disability grant if their impairment lasts for more than a year. The maximum payout from Sassa is R1 985 per month.
To qualify for the disability grant applicants must meet the requirements listed below.
- Be between the ages of 18 and 59, have a 13-digit, bar-coded identity document, and be a South African citizen, permanent resident, or refugee who is residing in South Africa at the time of application (ID)
- Not earn more than R86 280 for single people and R172 560 for married people.
- Not possess assets worth more than R1 227 600 if you’re single or R2 455 200 if you’re married.
- Undergo a medical examination to determine the extent of your disability from a state-appointed physician.
- Bring any prior medical reports and records with you when you submit your application and during the assessment.
To submit your application for this grant, Sassa advises applicants to visit their nearest Sassa office and fill out a disability grant application form in the presence of a Sassa official and submit the documents listed below:
- Your identity document with a 13-digit barcode (ID). If you don’t have an ID,
- Fill out an affidavit using the standard SASSA format in front of an independent commissioner of oaths.
- A sworn statement verifying your name and age must be brought, and it must be signed by a respectable individual (such as a council member, traditional leader, social worker, minister of religion, or school principal).
- Your fingerprints will be taken by the Sassa official.
- While your application is being processed, you will be sent to the Department of Home Affairs to apply for the ID. Your grant will be put on hold if you fail to obtain an ID.
- A medical report and functional assessment report confirm your disability.
- Proof of marital status (if applicable).
- Proof of residence.
- Proof of income or dividends (if any).
- Proof of assets, including the municipal value of your property.
- Proof of private pension (if any).
- Your bank statements for the past three months.
- Refugee status permit and 13-digit refugee ID.
- Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) document (‘blue book’) or discharge certificate from your previous employer if you were employed.
- A copy of the will and the first and final liquidation and distribution accounts, if your spouse died within the last five years.
You will receive a receipt after submitting your application, which you should keep as proof of it. It may take up to three months for the application to be processed.
Additionally, Sassa reminds applicants to keep in mind that a permanent disability grant does not guarantee a lifetime of payments, only that it will last for more than a year.
Foster Child Grant
This social grant is available to Foster Child Grant applicants to care for their foster child. A foster child is a child who has been given into the applicant’s care by a court due to one of the following reasons: being orphaned, at risk, abandoned, abused, or neglected. The applicant will receive R1 070 per month per child.
To qualify for the grant, applicants must
- Be a South African citizen, permanent resident, or refugee
- The applicant and the foster child must live in South Africa
- The foster child must be legally placed in their care and the child must remain in your care
- The foster child must be younger than 18.
To apply for the grant applicants are advised to visit their nearest Sassa branch while in possession of the following supporting document.
- 13-digit-bar-coded identity document (ID) and the birth certificate for the child.
- If you are a refugee, your status permit and refugee ID.
- If you don’t have your ID or the child’s birth certificate:
- Complete an affidavit in a standard SASSA format in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths who is not a SASSA official.
- A sworn statement signed by a reputable person (like a councilor, traditional leader, social worker, minister of religion, or school principal) who knows you and the child.
- The Sassa official will take your fingerprints. You will be referred to the Department of Home Affairs to apply for the ID even as your application is processed. If you don’t get an ID, your grant will be suspended.
- Proof that you have applied for an ID and/or birth certificate at the Department of Home Affairs.
- Alternatively, a temporary ID is issued by the Department of Home Affairs (if applicable).
- Present a baptismal certificate if available.
- Submit a road to health clinic card if available
- If the child is at school, the child’s school certificate.
- Birth certificate/s of the child/ children, or their identity documents from their country of origin
- Court order that placed the child in your care
- Proof of your marital status.
Fill out the application form in front of the Sassa official, note that only you as the applicant or a Sassa official can complete the application form. Upon completing the application, Sassa will hand you a receipt to keep as proof that you applied.
