Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that all permanent social grants will be increased by at least 5% during the next financial year. The minister revealed the social grant increases for the 2023/2024 financial year during the 2023 Budget Speech.
Here Are The Grant Increases For 2023
- Old Age grant will increase from R1,985 to R2,085
- Old Age grant (above 75 years old) and War Veterans grant will increase from R2,005 to R2,105
- Disability Grant will increase from R1,990 to R2,085
- Care Dependency grant will increase form R1,985 to R2,085,
- Foster Care grant will increase from R1,070 to R1,125
- Child Support Grant will increase from from R480 to R505
Minister Godongwana revealed that the government will be spending more money on grants due to the increasing number of grant beneficiaries in South Africa.
Government expects that amount of grant beneficiaries in South Africa to increase from 18.6 million beneficiaries in March 2023 to 19.6 million beneficiaries by March 2026. This will require the government to spend more than R10 billion more on grants in 2025.
They explained, “Expenditure on social grants will increase from R233 billion in 2022/23 to R248.4 billion in 2025/26 due to increases in the number of recipients and the value of the grants.”
The minister revealed that the childcare grant and the older persons grants will receive the largest proportion of government’s spending as they anticipate a growth in beneficiaries over the next three years.
Social Development will receive around R1.1 Trillion over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
This money will be used for the payment of social grants, provision of welfare services and strengthening advocacy for the empowerment of women, youth and people living with disabilities.
