SASSA Grant Increase From October 2023

The social grants offered by SASSA are the only means of living for many South African citizens. Around 26 million people receive the benefits of social grants. Every year inflation goes up and as a result cost of living increases. To cope with this inflation, the SASSA grant increases every year.

SASSA works hard to make the lives of South African people easier and that’s why they increase the grant payments every year. In 2023 SASSA grant increased twice, once in April 2023, and the next in October 2023. The reason behind this increase in grants was to help the grant holder fight inflation and adjust their expenses.

Let’s see how much increase for SASSA grant in 2023.

SASSA Child Grant and Other Grant Increase in 2023

Earlier this year, on the 22 February 2023 budget speech Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the SASSA grant increase for 2023. He also indicated that this grant increase will happen twice, in April and October. For this South African government allocated additional funding to the sum of R227 billion, over the medium term.

sassa grant increase october 2023 official circular

The increase in the grant amount for each type of social grant as of October 1, 2023, is as follows –

Child Support Grant: The child support grant was increased from R500 to R510 on October 2023. The child support grant top-up amount remained the same at R250. no increase for a top-up grant.
Old Age Grant (Old Persons Grant):
For grant holders between the ages of 60 and 74 years, the old age pension increased from R2080 to R2090
For the applicants who are 75 years or older, the grant amount increased from R2100 to R2110. The SASSA old age grant got an increase of R10 from October 1, 2023.
Disability Grant: The disability grant amount increased from R2080 to R2090 from October 2023.
War Veterans Grant: Previously the war veterans grant was R2100. From October 2023 it is increased to R2110.
Care Dependency Grant: The care dependency grant also received an increase of R10 and now the amount paid is R2090. Previously it was R2080.
Foster Child Grant: The grant amount for the foster child grant is increased from R1120 to R1130 from October 2023.
Grant-In-Aid: There is an increase of R10 in the grant-in-aid amount. Previously it was R500 and not is increased to R510.
SRD R350 (Social Relief of Distress) Grant: The amount for the special COVID-19 grant remained the same. There is no increase in grant payment.

SASSA Grant Increase Announcement by Finance Minister and Future Plans

Earlier this year, during the national budget speech held on February 22, 2023, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwa announced the allocation of additional funding of R227 billion over the medium term. From the given funding, around R66 billion will be allocated for the social development

As the SRD grant is extended to March 2024, around R36 billion is allocated to fund the extension of this grant. The Finance Minister announced that the remaining R30 billion (5% of the allocated budget) is going to be used for an inflation-linked increase for other social grants. This resulted in an increased grant amount for SASSA grant holders.

During his speech, the Finance Minister also shared the social grant stats and government plans for those social grants. He said, SASSA always works hard to make the grant process easier for beneficiaries. The government has followed its commitment to increase the grant amount by 5% as seen on October 2023.

As per the stats shared by Enoch Godongwa, it is seen that around 70% of social grant funds are paid for old age grants and child support grants. That makes the largest share of grant funds and there are a total of 17.5 million beneficiaries for these two grants alone.

As of March 2023, there are 18.6 million people who receive the SASSA grants and government spends R233 billion every year on these grants. The number of grant beneficiaries is expected to increase to 19.6 million by the end of March 2026 and that’s why the grant budget is also expected to increase to R248.4 billion.

The Finance Minister also added that the government is planning to allocate R10 billion more funds for the SASSA grant payments by the year 2025 so that all deserving people get the benefit.

SASSA SRD R350 Grant Increase From October 2023

The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant was started during the COVID-19 outbreak. The goal was to help the citizens financially during the hard times. From the start of this grant, the amount paid is R350. There is no increase in the grant amount. The Department of Social Development requested the National Treasury to increase the SRD grant amount, but due to fiscal constraints the request was not considered.

SASSA has cleared that the news of the SRD grant amount increase which is circulating in social media is fake and advised the beneficiaries to stay alert. As per SASSA guidelines, never share your grant details with anyone. The scammers are everywhere, so stay alert, and if you find any fraudulent activity, report it to SASSA as soon as possible.

When is the SASSA Grant paid?

The SASSA grants are the monthly payment and that’s why they are paid monthly. There is no fixed payment schedule. SASSA releases the grant payment dates for each grant at the end of the previous month. You can also log in to your account and see your grant payment date.

You can check your SASSA payment dates for your upcoming payment. These are tentative dates and can change as per the circumstances.

FAQs

Yes, the amount for the SASSA child grant and other social grants has increased from October 2023.

There is no announcement made yet regarding the grant amount increase. Generally, the increase in grant amount is announced in the national budget speech. It is expected that the grant amount will further increase by R10 from April 2024.

The SASSA grants amount was increased twice in 2023. The first increase was done in April and the next one in October.

There is no increase in the SRD R350 grant. The news circulating on social media is fake.

Conclusion

Inflation increases every year and it is important to keep up with this inflation to live a better life. The SASSA’s decision to increase the grant amount brings much-needed relief to beneficiaries. The plans shared by SASSA to make the grant process easier and to increase the grant amount by 5% give a positive signal.

Despite increasing the other grant amount, the beneficiaries of the SRD R350 grant are not happy as there is no increase for them. SASSA has clarified that this decision was made because of the fiscal constraints. We might see the SASSA grant increase in the upcoming time.