South Africa’s pensioners forced to survive on bread

After a lifetime of working, pensioners can’t maintain the lifestyle they once enjoyed.

Instead, fewer job opportunities and a limited Older Person’s grant are pushing many to the brink.

Now, South Africa’s pensioners are being forced to live on less.

Many have a grocery list that mostly consists of bread.

Pensioners Forced to Survive on a Bread-based Diet

According to data from The South African’s SASSA survey, roughly one in five pensioners buy bread as their main grocery item.

That increases for pensioners earning below R5 000 a month (most pensioners).

Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows 60.1% of the country’s pensioners rely on the Older Person’s grant as their main source of income.

Pensioners typically get R2 400 a month from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

Those over 75 get R2 420.

This is R542 to R562 less than the Upper-bound Poverty Limit (UBPL).

A pensioner whose only income is the Older Person’s grant will either go hungry or go without other basic needs.

The data suggests pensioners are choosing hunger.

According to a study published in ScienceDirect, those over 65 need a diet rich in vitamins and minerals.

South Africans commonly eat fortified bread, a loaf with vitamins and minerals added to make it more nutritious.

But even this won’t be enough to provide a pensioner with what they need.

If a pensioner consumes 8 slices of bread a day, they’ll get only some of what they need.

They’ll mostly get dietary fibre and protein, roughly 80% of what they need in a day.

South Africa’s most popular sandwich brown bread brand contains fibre, protein, zinc, vitamin B6 and vitamin A.

But pensioners need:

None of these is typically added to bread.

But the ScienceDirect study suggests pensioners shouldn’t get their nutrients from bread; instead, they should get them from fresh fruit and veg.

The study highlights that pensioners should be getting their nutrients from:

The study also explicitly calls out white bread and suggests pensioners replace it with wholewheat.

Pensioners’ inability to afford food also affects how much the government must spend on state-funded health services.

According to ScienceDirect, food insecurity in older adults is linked to increased use of healthcare services like hospitals and clinics.

It limits how well older people can manage chronic diseases, which worsens diet-related diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.

This may cause pensioners to spend more time in hospital.

In 2024, 68.4% of South Africans over 60 relied on public health facilities; the cost of care nearly doubles between ages 50 and 75.

If this trend continues, Treasury may need to increase public health spending.