This article explains an overview of South Africa’s social grant Sassa and how to apply for social assistance grants.  

In this article, we do our best to provide all the accurate information applicants want at the time of application because it is difficult for people to find information. 

Social Grants in South Africa were announced to improve standards of living and redistribute wealth among the citizens of South Africa to create a more equitable society. Social grants in South Africa are administered by the Sassa. The grant is mandated by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) Act of 2004, which ensures that social security services are provided to reduce vulnerability and poverty in the country of South Africa.

Sassa Social Security Grant Agency:

The Social Assistance Act of 2004 and its regulations of the act provide the legal framework for the administration of all the seven social Sassa grants. Grants are provided to different categories of people who are vulnerable to poverty and who need support. The grant is for older people as a pension, people with disabilities, and children whose parents are unable to financially support them. Also, the Social Relief of Distress grant is for unemployed people who need temporary assistance in dire need of financial support. You can apply online for Sassa SRD application.

The Sassa grant includes the following:

• Child Support Grant
• Care Dependency Grant
• Foster Child Grant
• Disability Grant
• Grant in Aid
• Older Person’s Grant
• War Veteran’s Grant
• Social Relief of Distress Grant
• Covid-19 r350 Social Relief of Distress Grant

The Salsa grant is only for those people who are South African citizens, permanent residents, or refugees/asylum seekers currently living in South Africa.

To qualify for the grant, every applicant has to pass the “means-tested.” The means test is the process of investigating your assets and income values. Only those applicants who can be approved for the Sassa grant whose income and assets are low from a certain threshold. This threshold is different and depends on other factors, like whether or not the applicant is married.  

Child Support Grant

The Child Support Grant’s value is R480 per month from April 2022. As an applicant, you must live in South Africa and be the primary caregiver of a child. The applicant also has to show proof of her primary caregiver status in the form of an affidavit from the police, a social worker’s report, an affidavit from the biological parent of the child, or a letter from the school principal of the child.

The Child Support Grant is only for those Children who are under the age of 18. The child must not be cared for by any other state institution. 

Care Dependency Grant

The Sassa paid R1,980 per month to those who qualified for Care Dependency Grant from April 2022 and R1,990 from October 2022.

The Care Dependency Grant is given to caregivers of children with disabilities. The child who has a permanent and severe disability and medical reports are also required as proof that the child is disabled by a medical officer, and the child’s age must be under 18. 

To qualify for the grant, you have to fulfill the requirements of the means test.

Older Person’s Grant (Old Age Pension)

The Sassa paid R1,980 per month as a pension Grant to all the older persons from April 2022 and R1,990 from October 2022. You, as an applicant, are eligible for a grant at the age of 60 years or older. 

For the Sassa grant pension, the applicant has to qualify for the requirements of the means test.

War Veteran’s Grant

The maximum value of the War Veteran’s Grant is R1,980 per month from April 2022, and then gradually increases to R1,990 from October 2022, according to the 2022 schedule of Sassa if anyone who takes part in World War I, World War II, or the Korean War as a soldier can apply for a grant. 

Social Relief of Distress

Social relief of distress grant is temporarily provided to the people of South Africa. You can apply for the r350 grant if you suffer from the crisis that is mentioned below:

  Need help while waiting for your children’s grants to be processed

• In the situation of crisis or disaster (e.g., your house or office has burnt down)
• In desperate situation
• If there is no breadwinner in the family or someone has passed away
• If the breadwinner has been sent to prison for certain reasons and you are unable to support yourself financially for a short time (less than six months)
• In case of disaster, even the community to where you belong has not been declared a disaster area.

You can also check your application status through Sassa website. The Sassa status check can be check by the following site.