What are Sassa grants?
Social Assistance is a government-provided income transfer in the form of grants. A social grant is a grant paid by the South African Social Security Agency that includes the following benefits: disability grant, grant for older people and war veterans, foster child grant, care dependency grant, child support grant, and grant-in-aid.
Types of grants Social Assistance is provided in the form of:
- Grant for older persons;
- Disability grant;
- War veterans grant;
- Care dependency grant;
- Foster child grant;
- Child support grant;
- Grant-in-aid;
- Social Relief of Distress
Proof of identity
Please contact your local SASSA office for information on the alternative documents that are accepted for grant applications. Refugees can use their Section 24 permit to prove their refugee status and identity. Applicants who do not have a 13-digit barcoded ID document, smart ID, or birth certificate for the children involved in the application are still eligible to apply for a grant.
Where Do You Apply For A Sassa Grant?
- You apply at the SASSA Office nearest to where you live;
- If you are too old or sick to travel to the office to apply for a grant, then a family
member or friend can apply on your behalf; with a letter from you as applicant authorizing the application; - Your application form will be completed in the presence of an official from SASSA unless it was done online;
- When your application is completed you will be given a receipt or reference number;
- Applications for older person grants, child support grants or foster child grants can be done online at https://services.sassa.gov.za
- Keep this receipt/reference number as it is your only proof of application;
- You do not have to pay any money to apply;
- If your application is not approved by SASSA, you must be informed in writing as to why your application was unsuccessful;
- You have the right to appeal the decision
- The satff at the local office will advice on the process to follow.
Methods Of Payment for Sassa grants
You have the option of receiving your social grant in a variety of ways. You have the option of having the grant paid directly into your personal bank account or into the new SASSA card account. If you use your own account, you will be responsible for all costs associated with that account. If you use the SASSA card, you will incur no costs unless you use the card for services other than those covered by SASSA. Please keep in mind that if you choose to have the grant paid into your own account, you will be required to fill out a form confirming your bank account information. If you choose to receive your grant in the form of a SASSA card,
Suspension Of Sassa Grants
The following may result in the suspension of a grant:
- Changes in circumstances (financial and / or medical);
- The outcome of a review;
- Failure to co-operate when a grant is reviewed;
- Committing fraudulent activity or misrepresentation.
- Where the grant was approved in error.
Restoration Of Sassa Grants
If a grant lapses because it has not been collected for more than three months, an application for restoration must be made within 90 days of the suspension.
Main Reasons For Lapsing Of Sassa Grants
- When the beneficiary or primary caregiver dies;
- Admission to a State Institution;
- When the period of temporary disability has lapsed;
- You are absent from the Republic; for a period of longer than 90 days
- If you cease to be a refugee.
- If the child for whom the grant is received turns 18.
- If the grant was not collected for 3 consecutive months.
Date Of Award Of Sassa Grants
Unless you applied for a foster child grant, if your grant is approved, you will be paid from the date you applied. Foster child grants are paid beginning with the date of court placement.
If Your Application For A Sassa Grant Is Unsuccessful
You must be informed in writing of the reasons for the grant application’s denial, as well as your right to appeal the decision if you disagree with the outcome.
Sassa Reviews
Any income must be declared at the time of application. This will be used by SASSA to determine whether your grant needs to be reviewed. The date of the review or the date on which the life certificate is due will be communicated to you three months in advance. Certificates of Life If you do not collect your own grant using biometric validation (fingerprint), you will be required to provide life status confirmation (proof of life) once a year. The requirements will be communicated to you in advance. Distress Relief on a Social Level Social relief of distress is the provision of temporary assistance to people who are in such desperate need that they are unable to meet their or their families’ most basic needs. Social Relief of Distress is paid to South African citizens; permanent residents or refugees, who have insufficient means, are resident in South Africa and meet one or more of the following criteria:
- The applicant is awaiting payment of an approved social grant; The breadwinner of that household has been found medically unfit to undertake remunerative work for a period of fewer than 6 months;
- The breadwinner of the household is deceased and application is made within 12 months of the date of death;
- The breadwinner of that household has been admitted to a public or private institution for a period of at least one month.
- The applicant has been affected by a disaster as defined in the Disaster Management Act or the Fund Raising Act, of 1978.
- Refusal of the application for social relief of distress will cause undue hardship.
Period Of Social Relief Of Distress
Social Relief of Distress is given out once a month for a maximum of three months. In exceptional circumstances, a three-month extension may be granted.
Note: A person who is receiving a social grant may not receive both the grant and social relief of distress at the same time. Anyone who received both social assistance and a grant at the same time must repay the value of the social assistance. This will be deducted from any social grant payment, including arrears. However, if the person receiving a social grant received social relief as a result of a disaster, that amount will not be recovered.
The Responsibility of the Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries are responsible for keeping SASSA informed of changes in their circumstances and means, as well as responding to any correspondence received. It is the beneficiary’s responsibility to keep his or her SASSA card safe and not reveal the PIN.
What Is A Means Test
In South Africa, social assistance is subject to means testing, which means that SASSA examines the applicant’s income and assets, as well as those of his or her spouse, to determine whether the applicant’s means fall below a certain threshold. This means that a test is a method of determining whether a person qualifies for a grant, as grants are intended for those with insufficient means to support themselves. The means test varies depending on the type of grant.
Note: Grants for older persons, war veterans and the disabled are paid on a sliding scale.
See the original doc here: https://services.sassa.gov.za/portal/r/sassa/files/static/v40/GRANTSINFO2021-22.pdf
