SASSA March 2024: Children’s grants can be collected TODAY

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has confirmed its March 2024 payment schedule, as below:

• Older Person’s or Pensioners Grants: Tuesday, 5 March 2024
• Disability Grants: Wednesday, 6 March 2024
• Children’s and all other grants: Thursday, 7 March 2024

Older Person’s or Pensioner’s grants were paid out from Tuesday, 5 March, while on Wednesday, 6 March those eligible for Disability grants were able to collect.

Today, Thursday, 7 March, it’s the turn of those eligible for Children’s grants – as well as all other grants – to collect.

Meanwhile, in good upcoming news for grant recipients as reported by The South African website, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his Budget Speech last week confirmed that SASSA grants would be increased from April 2024 for the following 12 months.

Social grants have been upped to help keep pace with inflation:

• An increase of R100 to the old age, war veterans, disability and care dependency grants. This amount will be divided into R90 effective from April 2024 and R10 effective October 2024
• A R50 increase to the foster care grant
• A R20 increase to the child support grant

THE SRD GRANT WILL BE UPPED IN APRIL

“We are sensitive to the increase in the cost of living for the nearly 19 million South Africans who rely on these grants to make ends meet.

“In this regard, we have done as much as the fiscal envelope allows. Work is currently underway to improve the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant by April this year,” Godongwana added.

The SRD R350 Grant for this month will be paid between 25-29 March.

WHAT IS A SRD GRANT?

Social relief of distress is a temporary provision of assistance intended for persons in such dire material need that they are unable to meet their or their families’ most basic needs.

Social Relief of Distress (SRD) is paid to South African citizens or permanent residents, who have insufficient means and meet one or more of the following criteria:

• 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 less than 6 months.
• The breadwinner is deceased and application is made within three months of the date of death.
• No maintenance is received from the parent, child or spouse obliged in law to pay maintenance, and 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 defined in the Disaster Management Act or the Fund Raising Act, of 1978.
• The person is not receiving assistance from any other organization.
• Refusal of the application for social relief of distress will cause undue hardships.

Period of Social Relief of Distress (New policy)

Social Relief of Distress is issued monthly for a maximum period of three months. An extension of a further three months may be granted in exceptional cases.

Note: No person who receives a social grant may receive the grant and social relief of distress simultaneously. Any person who receives both social relief and grants at the same time must repay the value of the social relief of distress received. This will be recovered from any social grant payment, including an arrear payment. However, where the person who receives a social grant received social relief of distress as a result of a disaster, that amount will not be recovered.

HELPFUL CONTACT DETAILS

For any further queries, get in touch with SASSA directly:

• Contact the SASSA Toll-Free Call centre on 0800 60 10 11
• Contact the SASSA Head Office on (012) 400 2322
• Email SASSA Head Office at: grantsenquiries@sassa.gov.za
• Contact details of SASSA offices across the country: SASSA offices