Apply for grant-in-aid for pensioners, disabled and war veterans

THE South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has noted with concern that most frail recipients of old age grants, disability grants and war veteran grants are not going to Sassa offices to apply for a grant-in-aid.

Sassa said one of its primary objectives is to conduct awareness to teach families with frail grant recipients to go to nearby Sassa offices to apply for this additional grant meant to assist in paying extra medical bills, buying nutritious food and paying for services of the person taking care of the frail grant recipient.

In order to qualify, the applicant must be in receipt of an old age grant, disability grant or a war veterans grant, and require regular attendance by another person owing to his/her physical or mental disabilities. They must not be cared for in an institution that receives a subsidy from the state.

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Senzeni Ngubeni, Sassa spokesperson in Mpumulanga said, “Applicants who do not have an identity document, smart ID or birth certificate for the children involved in the application can still apply for a grant but must check with the nearest Sassa office on which alternative documents are accepted for grant applications.”

“If the application is approved, beneficiaries start receiving payments within three months. The payments will be backdated to the day the application for the grant was completed. The grant-in-aid will be cancelled if the beneficiary is no longer in the care of another person, if they die, or if they get admitted to a state institution, and if the income or assets improve so much that they no longer qualify in terms of the means test,” Ngubeni added. 

Contact the Customer Care Unit on 013 754 9363/9439/9428 or the toll-free number: 0800 60 10 11 from 8am to 4pm during weekdays.