The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) aims to provide eligible beneficiaries with quality customer-centric social security services through grants.
Sassa provides South African citizens with several grants, namely the Care Dependency Grant, Child Support Grant, Disability Grant, Foster Child Grant, Grant-In-Aid, Older Person's Grant, Social Relief of Distress, and War Veterans Grant.
Unfortunately, Sassa does not provide beneficiaries with loans, however, eligible beneficiaries are encouraged to apply for their social grants.
Those who would like to apply for the Care Dependency Grant need to meet the following requirements:
- The applicant must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee.
- The applicant and child must be resident in South Africa.
- The child must be under the age of 18 years.
- The applicant must submit a medical / assessment report confirming permanent, severe disability for the child.
- The applicant and spouse (if married) must meet the requirements of the means test (except for foster parents).
- The care-dependent child/children must not be permanently cared for in a State Institution.
Find more information about the Care Dependency Grant here.
In order to qualify for the Child Support Grant, you need to meet these requirements:
- The primary caregiver must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee.
- Both the applicant and the child must reside in South Africa.
- The applicant must be the primary caregiver of the child/ children concerned.
- The child/children should be under the age of 18.
- The applicant and spouse (if married) must meet the requirements of the means test.
- The applicant cannot apply for more than six non-biological children.
- The child cannot be taken care of by in-state institutions.
Find more information about the Child Support Grant here.
Those who are interested in applying for the Disability Grant, need to meet the following requirements:
- The applicant must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee.
- The applicant must be resident in South Africa.
- The applicant must be 18 to 59 years of age.
- The applicant must submit a medical / assessment report confirming permanent, severe disability.
- The applicant's medical assessment must not be older than 3 months at the date of application.
- The applicant and spouse (if married) must meet the requirements of the means test.
- The applicant must not be maintained or cared for in a State Institution.
- The applicant must not receive another social grant in respect of him or herself.
Find more information about the Disability Grant here.
The Foster Child Grant is available to citizens who meet the following requirements:
- The foster parent must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee.
- Both the applicant and the child must reside in South Africa.
- The child must have been legally placed in their foster parent(s) care and remain in their care.
Find more information about the Foster Child Grant here.
Those who would like to apply for the Grant-In-Aid, need to meet the following requirements:
- The applicant must receive a grant for Older Person's, Disability grant or a War Veteran's grant, and require full- time attendance by another person owing to their physical or mental disabilities.
- They must not be cared for in an institution that receives a subsidy from the State for the care/housing of such a beneficiary.
Find more information about Grant-In-Aid here.
In order to qualify for the Older Person's Grant, you need to meet these requirements:
- The applicant must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee.
- The applicant and child must be resident in South Africa.
- Must not be less than 60 years.
- The applicant must not receive another social grant for him or herself.
- The applicant and spouse (if married) must comply with the means test.
- The applicant must not be maintained or cared for in a State Institution.
- The applicant must submit a 13 digit bar-coded identity document.
Find more information about the Older Person's Grant here.
Those who are interested in applying for the Social Relief of Distress, need to meet the following requirements:
- The applicant is awaiting payment of an approved social grant.
- The applicant has been found medically unfit to undertake remunerative work for a period of fewer than 6 months.
- The breadwinner is deceased and application is made within three months of the date of death.
- No maintenance is received from parent, child or spouse obliged in law to pay maintenance, and the proof is furnished that efforts made to obtain maintenance have been unsuccessful.
- The breadwinner of that person`s family has been admitted to an institution funded by the state (prison, psychiatric hospital, state home for older persons, treatment centre for substance abuse or child and youth care centre).
- The applicant has been affected by a disaster as defines in the Disaster Management Act or the Fund Raising Act, 1978.
- The person is not receiving assistance from any other organization or.
- Refusal of the application for social relief of distress will cause undue hardships.
Find more information about the Social Relief of Distress Grant.
The War Veterans Grant is available to citizens who meet the following requirements:
- The applicant must be a South African citizen / permanent resident.
- The applicant must be a resident in South Africa.
- The applicant must be 60 years and over or must be disabled.
- The applicant must have fought in the Second World War or the Korean War.
- The applicant and spouse (if married) must meet the requirements of the means test.
- The applicant must not be maintained or cared for in a State Institution.
- The applicant must not receive another social grant in respect of himself or herself.
