‘R80 per day’: SASSA pensioner asks how grant recipients are meant to survive

Elizabeth Van Zyl, a Gauteng pensioner over the age of 65, says her Older Person’s Grant no longer stretches to the end of the month. Van Zyl has received the grant for more than five years and shared her experience in The South African’s SASSA grant survey.

She appreciates the support but says the numbers don’t add up,

“I am grateful for the amount I receive but R80.00 per day is not sufficient to live on,” Van Zyl said.

R80 a day disappears fast

Van Zyl explained that basic household items swallow most of her daily allowance.

“If you buy essentials such as toilet paper the R80 a day is almost gone,” she said.

She then questioned how pensioners are expected to afford soap, deodorant, meat, bread and other food with what remains. Van Zyl spends her grant on a mix of food, toiletries and transport, and says she regularly struggles to make ends meet. She typically runs out of money before the month ends.

Like many South Africans, she names the cost of living and rising food prices as her biggest financial concern.

Clinic trips cost her a full day’s budget

Transport adds another strain. Van Zyl said a single medical visit wipes out her money for the day.

“If you need to travel to the clinic for your medication you have nothing left for that day,” she said.

Her family fills the gap. Van Zyl lives in a shared family home, where one to two people depend on her income.

“Luckily my children provide food and help with other expenses,” she said.

Without that help, her situation would be far more difficult.

Better communication tops her wish list

Despite her money worries, Van Zyl says her payments have been straightforward. SASSA deposits her grant directly into her Capitec Bank account each month.

However, she rates SASSA’s communication with recipients as poor. Knowing when to renew or reapply remains her biggest challenge with the agency. If she could change one thing, she would ask for better communication around payment dates.

Van Zyl also revealed she has never applied for additional government support because she did not know what else was available to her.

Her story reflects the reality faced by many older South Africans, who remain grateful for the grant while openly admitting it falls short.

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