Formula behind scaled SASSA grants explained

Did you know there are scaled SASSA grants administered to the elderly? Unless you actually receive one of these, you probably wouldn’t know, because the agency itself doesn’t explain it in great detail publicly. And yet, there it is, gazetted right in its own regulations.

Looking at the SASSA Older Person Grant as one example, it isn’t necessarily a flat payment of R2 400 (60 to 74) and R2 420 (75 and up) per month. There is actually a formula for scaled SASSA grants, and it is:

D = 1.6A − 0.4B

SCALED SASSA GRANTS EXPLAINED

• D = Annual grant payable.
• A = Maximum annual grant, R2 400 a month (60 to 74).
• B = Annual income as reported in your means assessment.

Therefore, in South African Social Security Agency means tests, if you earn under R3 600 a month (R43 200 a year) for a single person, you get the full R2 400. However, for every extra R1 000 of income above that limit, scaled SASSA grants get cut by R400.

Very few people know this about the grant system, even among the roughly 4.2-million Old-Age beneficiaries actually receiving it.

ALLOWABLE INCOME LOWER THAN ADVERTISED

Many first-time applicants trying to figure out the agency’s income (means) eligibility limits will only read:

• Your income must be less than R9 350 (single) per month, which adds up to R112 200 per year.

However, that figure is the cliff at the very top. R9 350 of income doesn’t entitled you to R2 400. In fact, on the scaled SASSA grants system you only qualify for just R100 a month. That’s barely worth the trouble of applying. Refer to the table below …

Monthly income	Annual income	Monthly grant	Annual grant	Income + grant
R3 600 (or less)	R43 200	R2 400	R28 800	R6 000
R4 000	R48 000	R2 240	R26 880	R6 240
R4 500	R54 000	R2 040	R24 480	R6 540
R5 000	R60 000	R1 840	R22 080	R6 840
R5 500	R66 000	R1 640	R19 680	R7 140
R6 000	R72 000	R1 440	R17 280	R7 440
R6 500	R78 000	R1 240	R14 880	R7 740
R7 000	R84 000	R1 040	R12 480	R8 040
R7 500	R90 000	R840	R10 080	R8 340
R8 000	R96 000	R640	R7 680	R8 640
R8 500	R102 000	R440	R5 280	R8 940
R9 000	R108 000	R240	R2 880	R9 240
R9 350	R112 200	R100	R1 200	R9 450

A BIG CAVEAT

Plug your income into the above scale and you should be able to predict how much social assistance you’ll receive, if any, like reader Davemarie found out when querying his R1 730 payment. As ever, there are caveats, like a married person’s assessment combines both spouses income, so the numbers effectively double.

But what do you think? Have you been receiving scaled SASSA grants and didn’t know why? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …