‘Increase the grant amount’: Gauteng pensioner’s message to SASSA
· The South African
Gabriel supports up to five dependants on the Older Persons Grant, and by the third week of every month, the money is gone. He receives R2 400 a month through the Older Persons Grant. He shares a family home with relatives who pool their earnings to keep everyone fed. Even with that combined support, the grant doesn’t stretch far enough. Rising food prices are eating into what little buying power he has left, and he says he regularly goes without.
Despite holding a diploma in admin and office work, Tsotetsi is still job hunting, and says he’s willing to relocate for the right opportunity. But South Africa’s unemployment rate sits above 32%, and older jobseekers often battle age discrimination on top of scarce openings. For now, the grant remains his only steady income, and it isn’t covering the basics.
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Long queues, little information
Gabriel rates his overall SASSA experience as very good. His payments land directly in his bank account each month, sparing him the trip to a collection point, and he says the application process itself was simple. But dealing with SASSA outside of payment day is a different story. Long queues at SASSA offices, difficulty tracking his application status, and a shortage of clear information online remain constant frustrations. He also had no idea other support programmes existed that might have helped fill the gap.
What Gabriel wants to see change
Asked what one change would make the biggest difference, Gabriel didn’t hesitate: increase the grant amount. He wants SASSA to increase the Older Persons Grant and make it easier for pensioners to receive their payments through the banks they prefer. It’s a request rooted in the daily maths of stretching too little money across too many needs, an experience shared by countless South African pensioners on fixed incomes.
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