‘Pension and veterans grant should be R 3 000’: Pensioner’s plea as grant runs dry

A Western Cape pensioner says her SASSA Older Person’s Grant runs out completely before each new payment lands, even though she owns her home and has no one else to support.

The retired grant recipient, who is over 65 and asked to remain anonymous, has received the grant for more than five years. She told The South African in its SASSA grant survey that she spends the money mainly on food and groceries. By the end of each month, nothing is left.

The Older Person’s Grant pays R2 400 a month to recipients aged 60 and older, following the April 2026 increase announced in the February Budget.

No rent, but still not enough

Asked whether the grant covers her basic needs, the pensioner said it helps but is not enough. She named the cost of living and rising food prices as her biggest financial worry.

She has not gone without food in the past month. However, her experience shows how quickly a fixed grant shrinks at the till, even for a recipient with no rent or bond to pay and no dependants at home.

For pensioners who rent, the strain is heavier still, as the same grant must stretch across housing, transport and medicine as well as food.

The payments themselves have caused her no trouble. She said receiving the grant has been straightforward, with the money deposited directly into her bank account each month.

Pensioner backs union’s R3 000 call

Where SASSA falls short, she said, is communication. She rated the agency’s communication with recipients as poor and admitted she has never applied for additional government support because she did not know what else was available.

If she could change one thing about SASSA, it would be the size of the grant. She pointed to the position taken by Cosatu.

“Cosatu states that the minimum pension and veterans’ grant should be R 3 000,” she said.

That figure would mean about R600 more each month for pensioners aged 60 and older. For a recipient whose grant is already gone by month-end, she believes that increase could make the difference between scraping by and having something left over.

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