Millions of South Africans who rely on the R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant could eventually receive support through a new, permanent income-support programme.

Government is working on a proposed Basic Income Support (BIS) grant, which is intended to replace the current SRD grant for working-age people with little or no income.

However, the new grant has not been introduced yet, and government has not decided how much beneficiaries would receive.

The SRD has currently been extended until March 2027, while the new system is still being developed.

What will happen to the R370 grant?

For now, the SRD grant remains in place.

Government has allocated R36.4 billion to continue paying the R370 grant until March 2027.

The grant was first introduced in 2020 as temporary support during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was initially worth R350 but was later increased to R370 and has been extended several times as millions of people continued to rely on it.

The proposed BIS grant is intended to turn the temporary support into a more permanent part of South Africa’s social protection system.

What happens next?

The proposed policy still has to go through government approval and legislative processes before a permanent grant can be introduced.

This means the final amount, eligibility rules and implementation date could still change.