All Types of Grants in South Africa (2026/27 Amounts and Who Qualifies)

South Africa has eight social grants, all paid by SASSA, plus one add-on payment and a separate emergency relief measure.

If you are trying to work out which one you can claim, this is the full list with the amounts that apply from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Every grant on this list is means tested except the Foster Child Grant. You cannot receive two grants for yourself, although Grant-in-Aid is an add-on to an existing grant, and a caregiver can hold grants for more than one child.

What SASSA actually is

SASSA is the South African Social Security Agency. It was created by the South African Social Security Agency Act 9 of 2004 and became fully operational in April 2006, taking over grant administration from nine separate provincial systems.

It runs under the policy oversight of the Department of Social Development, but it manages its own offices, staff and budget. Today it pays roughly R22 billion every month to more than 19 million beneficiaries through over 1,400 offices and service points.

Your right to this money is not charity. Section 27(1)(c) of the Constitution says everyone has the right to social security, and to social assistance if you cannot support yourself and your dependants. The Social Assistance Act 13 of 2004 turns that right into the grants listed below.

Types of SASSA grants

1. Older Persons Grant

This is the one most people call the old age pension. It pays R2,400 a month if you are between 60 and 74, and R2,420 once you turn 75. The extra R20 is applied automatically, so you do not reapply.

To qualify, you must:

• Be 60 or older
• Be a South African citizen, permanent resident or recognised refugee living in South Africa
• Not be receiving another social grant for yourself
• Not be maintained or cared for in a state-funded institution
• Pass the means test (your income and your spouse’s income and assets are both assessed)

One thing most articles get wrong: having some private income does not automatically disqualify you. This grant works on a sliding scale. The more private income you have, the smaller your grant, but you may still receive something. It is designed to top up what you have, not to punish you for having it.

2. Disability Grant

The Disability Grant pays R2,400 a month to people aged 18 to 59 whose disability prevents them from working.

You need to:

• Be 18 to 59 years old
• Be a South African citizen, permanent resident or recognised refugee living in South Africa
• Undergo a medical or functional assessment confirming the disability
• Submit clinical information or a referral form from your treating health practitioner or facility
• Not be receiving another social grant for yourself
• Not be cared for in a state-funded institution
• Pass the means test

There are two versions. A temporary Disability Grant runs between six and twelve months, and lapses on its own when the period ends. If you have not recovered, you must apply again. A permanent Disability Grant is awarded when the condition is expected to last longer than twelve months, but SASSA can still call you back for reassessment during a review.

Once you turn 60, you move over to the Older Persons Grant. Both pay the same amount, so nothing changes financially, but it is worth visiting your SASSA office a few months before your 60th birthday so admin delays do not create a payment gap.

3. War Veterans Grant

This grant pays R2,420 a month, the highest single grant amount on the system. It is for people who served in the Second World War or the Korean War.

To qualify, you must:

• Have served in the Second World War or the Korean War
• Be 60 or older or be living with a disability
• Be a South African citizen, permanent resident or recognised refugee living in South Africa
• Not be maintained or cared for in a state-funded institution
• Not be receiving another social grant for yourself
• Pass the means test

You will also need proof of your participation in either war. Like the Older Persons and Disability grants, this one is paid on a sliding scale.

4. Care Dependency Grant

The Care Dependency Grant pays R2,400 a month to the primary caregiver of a child under 18 who needs permanent care because of a severe disability.

To qualify:

• The child must be under 18 and require permanent care due to a disability
• The child must undergo a medical or functional assessment confirming the disability
• You must submit clinical information or a referral form as a baseline for the assessment
• The child must not be permanently cared for in a state-funded institution
• You must live in South Africa with the child
• You must pass the means test

A useful detail that is almost never mentioned: a foster child who is care dependent can receive the Foster Child Grant and the Care Dependency Grant at the same time. When a foster parent applies for a Care Dependency Grant on behalf of a fostered child, the foster parent’s income is excluded from the means test.

5. Child Support Grant

This is the most widely claimed grant in South Africa, with well over 13 million active beneficiaries. It pays R580 per child, per month, to the primary caregiver.

To qualify:

• The child must be under 18
• You must be the child’s primary caregiver, which can be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling or any person who is genuinely the main carer
• You and the child must both live in South Africa
• You must submit the child’s birth certificate
• You cannot claim for more than six non-biological children
• The child must not be permanently cared for in a state-funded institution
• You must pass the means test

You do not have to be the biological parent. You do have to prove you are the primary caregiver. If the child is of school-going age, you should provide proof of school attendance, but SASSA cannot refuse the grant if you fail to attend school or produce that proof.

6. Child Support Grant Top-Up

This one is missing from most guides, and it costs families money every month.

If you are caring for an orphan who is a relative of yours, you can claim an extra R290 per child on top of the standard R580. That is R870 per child, per month. It was introduced in 2022 for grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins raising orphaned children.

To qualify:

• You must be related to the child (grandparent, sibling, uncle, aunt or cousin), or be a child aged 16 to 18 heading a household
• The child must be under 18 and of school-going age
• You must live with the child in South Africa
• You must submit the child’s birth certificate
• You must submit death certificates for both parents. If only one is available and the other parent’s status is unknown, an affidavit will do
• You cannot claim for more than six children

No social worker’s report and no court order are needed. The one exception is a child under 18 caring for orphaned siblings in a child-headed household, who must see a social worker first. The Top-Up is not a stand-alone grant and is subject to the same means test as the Child Support Grant.

7. Foster Child Grant

The Foster Child Grant pays R1,290 a month to a foster parent caring for a child placed with them by a court.

To qualify:

• You need a valid court order confirming the foster care placement
• The child must remain in your care and live with you in South Africa
• You must submit the child’s birth certificate
• You must not be maintained or cared for in a state-funded institution
• You cannot claim for more than six children, unless they are siblings or blood relations, or the court decides otherwise under Section 185(1) of the Children’s Act

Two things make this grant unusual. First, it is the only SASSA grant with no means test at all. Your income and assets are irrelevant. Second, the date of award is backdated to the court placement date, not the date you applied.

The grant can continue to age 21 if the child is still attending school, including at tertiary level, as long as you submit the supporting documents. Because the grant is tied to a court order, a social worker must reassess the case before that order expires, and the order must be extended for payment to continue.

8. Grant-in-Aid

Grant-in-Aid pays an extra R580 a month. It is not a stand-alone grant.

You can only claim it if you already receive one of these:

• Older Persons Grant
• Disability Grant
• War Veterans Grant

On top of that, you must need regular attendance and care from another person because of a physical or mental disability or illness, and you must not be cared for in a state-funded institution that receives a subsidy for your care or housing.

You need a medical or functional assessment and a referral letter from your treating health practitioner. If you are on the Older Persons Grant and cannot bathe, cook or move around unaided, this brings your total to R2,980 a month, or R3,000 if you are over 75. You have to apply for it separately at a SASSA office.

9. Social Relief of Distress (and the R370 grant)

This is where nearly every article on this topic gets it wrong, so read this section carefully. There are two different things called SRD.

Ordinary Social Relief of Distress is short-term help for people in undue hardship who cannot meet their most basic needs. It is not the R370 payment. You may qualify if:

• You are awaiting payment of an already approved social grant
• You have been affected by a disaster as defined under the Disaster Management Act or the Fund Raising Act, 1978
• Your child needs a school uniform you cannot afford because of hardship, or the uniform was lost or destroyed in a disaster

Note the catch: if SRD is paid to you while you wait for an approved grant, SASSA will recover it from that grant once payment starts, unless the SRD was issued because of a disaster.

The COVID-19 SRD is the R370 payment everyone talks about. SASSA is explicit that this is not technically a grant, it is a temporary form of assistance, and it is accessed only online. It has been funded to continue at R370 a month until 31 March 2027, with government signalling a move toward a broader income support grant after that.

To qualify:

• Be between 18 and below 60 years old
• Be a South African citizen, permanent resident, recognised refugee, or a holder of a valid Special Angolan, Lesotho Exemption or Zimbabwe Exemption permit, or an asylum seeker with a valid Section 22 permit
• Be registered on the Home Affairs database
• Live in South Africa
• Not be cared for in a state-funded institution
• Not be receiving another social grant
• Not unreasonably refuse employment or educational opportunities
• Pass the means test, which for this payment means earning R624 or less per month

Every new applicant must now complete facial biometric authentication (eKYC) before approval. If your status shows “referred”, or shows approved but unpaid, you need to log into the SRD portal, request a verification link and complete the facial recognition step. The same applies if you want to change your cellphone number.

Apply at srd.sassa.gov.za. This is the only channel.

The means test in 2026

The means test looks at your income and assets, and your spouse’s, and compares them against a threshold. Married applicants are assessed jointly whether they married in or out of community of property.

SASSA raised these thresholds in April 2026. Here is where they now sit.

A few points that trip people up:

• If your spouse already receives a social grant, that grant is not counted as income in your application.
• The home you live in is not counted as an asset. A second property you own but do not occupy is.
• You are allowed to deduct pension fund and retirement annuity contributions, tax, UIF and medical aid when your income is calculated.
• Older Persons, Disability and War Veterans grants are paid on a sliding scale, so having income above zero does not mean you get nothing.

How to apply for a SASSA grant

Permanent grants must be applied for in person at a SASSA local office. You cannot apply for the Older Persons, Disability, Child Support, Foster Child, Care Dependency, War Veterans or Grant-in-Aid grants through the SRD portal. The only online channel for permanent grants is the SASSA services portal at services.sassa.gov.za, and the Agency’s own guidance still directs applicants to a local office.

The steps:

1. Visit your nearest SASSA local office during working hours.
2. Collect the application form. It must be completed in the presence of a SASSA officer, and only you or a SASSA official may complete it.
3. Hand over your documents. The officer will interview you, verify everything and capture your fingerprints.
4. Take your stamped receipt. Keep it. It is your proof of application.
5. Wait. Processing takes up to three months. If approved, payment is backdated to your application date.

Applications are completely free. SASSA does not charge, and nobody should ever ask you for money to process your grant.

Documents you will need

• Certified copy of your 13-digit barcoded ID, and your spouse’s if you are married
• Certified copy of a valid Section 24 refugee permit, if you are a refugee
• Proof of marital status (marriage certificate, spouse’s death certificate, divorce decree, or an affidavit if you have been deserted)
• Latest payslip, not older than three months, for you and your spouse
• Three months of bank statements for every active account held by you and your spouse
• Bank account confirmation letter for the account you want to be paid into
• Proof of permissible deductions (tax, UIF, medical aid, private pension or retirement annuity)
• Proof of assets (unoccupied property, cash investments, shares, endowment policies, lump sums)
• A signed and stamped referral letter with clinical information, for the Disability, Care Dependency and Grant-in-Aid applications
• The child’s birth certificate, for any child grant
• A valid court order, for the Foster Child Grant
• Proof of war service, for the War Veterans Grant

SASSA now requires an active personal bank account in your own name that supports EFT. Cash pay points are being phased out, so if you do not have an account yet, sort that out before you apply.

SASSA payment dates 2026/27

Payments are staggered over three days. Older persons are paid first, then disability, then children’s grants.

Your money stays in your account. There is no need to queue on day one.

Reviews, suspensions and appeals

This is the part that quietly costs people their grants.

Reviews. SASSA periodically checks that you still qualify. Reviews have become far more frequent since 2026 as part of a compliance drive, with income cross-checked against SARS records, credit bureaus and bank accounts. If you get a review notice, respond to it. Ignoring it is the fastest way to lose your payment.

Your duty to report. You must tell SASSA if your financial position, marital status, address, contact details or care arrangements change. You must also tell SASSA before you leave the country for more than 90 days.

When a grant lapses. A grant ends when the recipient or the child dies, when the recipient is admitted to a state-funded care institution, when a temporary Disability Grant expires, when the child reaches the age limit, when the grant is not claimed within 90 days of approval, when you are outside South Africa for more than 90 consecutive days, or where fraud is suspected.

When a grant is suspended. Suspension follows failure to complete verification, lack of cooperation during a review, a change in circumstances, improved finances, misrepresentation, or missing documents.

Getting it back. If your grant is suspended because you missed a review, or because it was not collected for three consecutive months, you must apply for restoration within 30 days.

Appealing. If your application is turned down, SASSA must give you the reason in writing, and you have 90 days to appeal. Email normal grant appeals to Grantappeals@dsd.gov.za. COVID-19 SRD appeals go through srd.dsd.gov.za.

NSFAS is not a SASSA grant

NSFAS is worth clearing up, because it gets lumped in with social grants constantly.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme sits under the Department of Higher Education and Training, not SASSA. It funds tuition, accommodation, transport and learning materials for students at public universities and TVET colleges.

More importantly, the old advice about NSFAS being a loan you repay is out of date. Since 2018, the main NSFAS award has been a bursary you do not repay, for students from households earning up to R350,000 a year (up to R600,000 for students with a registered disability). If you receive a SASSA grant, you automatically meet the financial eligibility test.

There is a separate Missing Middle Loan, introduced in 2024, for households earning between R350,001 and R600,000. That one is repayable after graduation, once you earn above the threshold, although up to 40% of a year’s loan can convert to a bursary if you pass all your modules.

Apply at nsfas.org.za. It has nothing to do with your SASSA application.

Watch out for scams

SASSA will never ask for your bank PIN. It will never ask for your ID number or banking details through social media or an unofficial website. It does not offer loans of any kind, so any advert promising a “SASSA loan” or a “loan against your grant” is either a scam or a predatory lender.

Report fraud on 0800 701 701. General enquiries go to 0800 60 10 11 or GrantEnquiries@sassa.gov.za.

Frequently asked questions

How can I apply for SASSA grants? For permanent grants, go to your nearest SASSA local office in person with your documents. The COVID-19 SRD R370 payment is the exception and is applied for only online at srd.sassa.gov.za.

Can I receive more than one SASSA grant at the same time? Not for yourself. You cannot hold two social grants in your own name. But Grant-in-Aid is an add-on to an existing Older Persons, Disability or War Veterans Grant, a caregiver can receive a Child Support Grant for each qualifying child, and a foster child who is care dependent can attract both a Foster Child Grant and a Care Dependency Grant.

What documents are required for a SASSA grant application? At minimum: a certified 13-digit barcoded ID, proof of marital status, three months of bank statements for all active accounts, your latest payslip, proof of deductions and proof of assets. Child grants need the child’s birth certificate. Health-related grants need a referral letter with clinical information. The Foster Child Grant needs a valid court order.

Can non-South African citizens apply for SASSA grants? Permanent residents and recognised refugees can apply for social grants. The COVID-19 SRD additionally accepts asylum seekers with a valid Section 22 permit and holders of Special Angolan, Lesotho Exemption and Zimbabwe Exemption permits.

How often are SASSA grants paid? Monthly, on a published schedule staggered across three days. No SASSA grant is paid quarterly or annually.

Which grant has no means test? Only the Foster Child Grant. Every other grant assesses your income, and most assess your assets too.

The bottom line

South Africa’s grant system covers old age, disability, war service, orphaned children, children with severe disabilities, foster children, general child support and short-term crisis relief. Between them, they reach more than 19 million people a month.

If you think you might qualify, the two things worth acting on today are the Child Support Grant Top-Up, which many relatives raising orphans have never heard of, and Grant-in-Aid, which pensioners who need full-time care routinely miss. Both are money on the table.

Check the current amounts and criteria at sassa.gov.za before you apply, because these figures change on 1 April each year.