SASSA approves 22 000 old age grants in 3 months

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is coming out in support of pensioners, recent data would suggest.

In 90 days, the agency approved 22 060 Old Age grant applications.

Most pensioners approved within one week after applying

SASSA isn’t wasting time getting pensioners their grant money. According to the most recent data, the agency approved 22 244 applications by the end of September.

Of these, 22 060 were approved within 90 days; the remaining 184 took longer.

19 959 of these applications were approved within the first 7 days.

The agency also approved 93 031 Child Support Grant (CSG) applications and 34 221 Disability Grant (DG) applications.

However, the grant applications look less impressive when you consider that the agency received 64 409 Older Persons Grant applications in the period when it only approved 22 244 applications.

This means only 34% of applications had been approved by the end of September.

Approved applicants will receive between R2 400 and R2 420 a month in assistance, depending on their age.

By the end of September, the agency recorded 2 495 new Old Age Grant beneficiaries, meaning most of the more than 22 000 approvals were simply reapplications.

Getting an Old Age Grant

About 76% of South Africans over 60 receive an Old Age Grant.

And in these tough economic times, many more pensioners, some of whom are still working, are applying.

To apply for the grant, applicants can visit the SASSA online services portal.

There, create an account by selecting LOGIN and clicking “register new account.”

Follow the prompts and enter all your details.

SASSA will generate a list of supporting documents you need to provide.

Before applying, ensure you’re eligible.

An unmarried applicant must receive less than R9 350 a month and have less than R1 584 000 in assets.

Married applicants must have a joint income below R18 700 a month and own less than R3 168 000 in assets.

If applicants meet these criteria, they can make an application on SASSA’s website and attach the following documents in PDF format: