Everything you need to know about social grants

Child support and grant-in-aid beneficiaries were set to increase by 2.3 percent from October 1, as announced by finance minister Tito Mboweni in his February budget.

“Grants can be collected at ATM’s, merchant stores or the Post Office. Beneficiaries who receive their grants at cash pay points will continue to receive their grants on normal days as communicated to them during their last payment,” says the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).

Grant values will increase as follows:

Grant type and amount payable April 2019

* Older persons grant (old age pension): R1 780.00

* Older persons grant (old age pension beneficiary older than 75 years): R1800.00

* Disability grant: R1780.00

* War veteran’s grant: R1800.00

* Grant in aid: R420.00 increase payable October 1, R430.00

* Child support grant: R420.00 increase payable October 1, R430.00

* Foster child grant: R1000.00

* Care dependency grant: R1780.00

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Applicants for social grants must be South African citizens, permanent residents or refugees and currently living in South Africa.

Except for the foster child grant and the grant-in-aid, social grants are “means tested”. You will only be eligible for a grant if your income and assets fall below a certain threshold. This threshold is different for all the grants and will depend on whether or not you are married. The amount you receive for your old age grant and the disability grant is also determined by the means test and you may not necessarily receive the maximum amount offered by Sassa.

If you do some work or have another source of income but still really need social assistance you can still apply for a grant. You must declare all your income and assets to Sassa. If you receive the disability grant, old-age grant or war veterans grant your monthly money will be reduced according to how much money you earn.

If you are admitted to a state institution for an extended period of time, the value of your old age grant, disability grant or war veteran’s grant will be reduced to 25% of its value from the 4th month following your admission until you are discharged.

Child Support Grant

To receive this grant you must be the primary care giver of a child who also lives with you in South Africa. If you are not the biological parent of the child, you must provide proof of your primary caregiver status. This can be an affidavit from a police official, a social worker’s report, an affidavit from the biological parent of the child, or a letter from the school principal of the child.

Children must be under the age of 18. Children must not be cared for in a state institution. You cannot apply for more than six non-biological or legally adopted children.

In order to qualify for the grant you need to meet the requirements of the means test. If you are single you must not earn more than R48,000 per annum (R4,000 per month) and if you are married, your combined income must not be more than R96,000 (R8,000 per month).

Grant-in-Aid

If you are living on a social grant but can’t look after yourself you can get an additional grant to pay the person who takes full-time care of you. The Grant-in-Aid is an extra grant for people receiving disability, older persons or war veteran’s grants who, because of their mental or physical disabilities, are unable to look after themselves and need to pay a full-time caregiver. In order to receive this grant, you will need to be assessed by a medical officer. You cannot receive this grant if you are being cared for in a state institution.

How to apply

You should apply at the Sassa office nearest to where you live. If you are too old or too sick to apply for the grant at the office you may have a friend or family member apply on your behalf. You can also arrange for a home visit, although you may wait a while for this.

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The application forms must be completed in the presence of a Sassa officer. When you hand in your application you will be given a receipt as proof of application. The application is free. You will receive written notification if your application is denied. You have the right to ask for reconsideration and you can also lodge an appeal within 90 days.

Applicants must provide proof of identity. If you do not have a 13-digit bar coded Identity Book or birth certificate for children, you may provide alternative documentation as proof of identity. Contact your nearest Sassa office to find out which alternative documents are accepted.

Other documents required for application: If married, provide ID of your spouse and proof of spousal relationship (marriage certificate, divorce order, a sworn statement, or spouse’s death certificate). Sworn statement or affidavit stating the income and assets of yourself and your spouse. Supporting documents to prove your income and assets. You must also provide proof of the income of dependent children.

The application process takes up to 90 days and your first payment will include back-pay for the time you wait to receive the grant. This is calculated from the first day of application. When affidavits are required, Sassa will provide the affidavits to be completed.

For more information contact the Sassa hotline on 0800 601 011.

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