‘They must only increase for elderly’: Pensioners name the SASSA figure they want

SASSA pensioners are calling for a sharp increase to the Older Persons Grant, with several commenters settling on one figure they believe would ease the pressure on elderly households.

The demands surfaced on The South African’s Facebook page, where grant recipients reacted to a post about upcoming SASSA changes.

Pensioners rally behind the R5 000 increase

Winifred Winnie set the tone with a blunt message about who should come first.

“They must only increase for the elderly that R5 000 PM THATS ALL,” Winnie wrote. Her comment sparked 29 replies, making it one of the most discussed in the thread.

Frans Matsekela backed the same amount. “We need R5 000 this time,” Matsekela wrote.

Madudy Dongadilika took the idea further, proposing a festive season boost on top of the monthly grant. “Sassa must give pensioners a bonus every November R5000,” Dongadilika wrote.

‘Full amount no matter what’

For other pensioners, the concern is not only how much the grant pays, but whether every elderly person receives all of it.

Thuli Nzimande kept her message short. “Elderly pensioners must get full amount no matter what,” Nzimande wrote.

Seniors outside the system

Not every commenter focused on existing grant recipients. Genover Govender raised a group that often falls outside the debate entirely.

“Consider those seniors that are not getting Sassa at all as well,” Govender wrote.

Her comment points to elderly South Africans who fail the means test, have applications stuck in processing, or have never applied, yet still struggle to cover food, medication and transport.

While the R5 000 call has strong support in the comments, SASSA has not announced an increase of that size. Grant amounts are set through the national budget, and pensioners should rely only on SASSA’s official channels for any confirmed changes.

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