SASSA Grants in South Africa 2026: Types, Amounts and Who Qualifies

SASSA grants cover a lot of ground: help for older people, people with disabilities, children and the people who care for them, foster parents, military veterans and adults with little or no income. This guide is the overview. It puts every grant in one table, helps you work out which one fits your situation and sends you to a detailed guide for each.

Everything here comes from SASSA’s 2026 booklet, the Department of Social Development and SAnews, and was last checked on 2 November 2026. We are an independent guide, not SASSA, so we cannot approve, change or speed up anyone’s application.

The eight grants and what they pay

The table below shows the monthly amounts that took effect in April 2026.

Amounts took effect in April 2026. Checked 2 November 2026.

Two notes on reading it. The foster child grant shows two figures because two sources differ by R5, which the grant amounts guide explains. And SRD is the only grant with an end date attached: it is funded to 31 March 2027, and what comes after that has not been decided.

What each grant is for

Older Persons Grant

Paid to people aged 60 and over who pass the means test, and it pays R2,400 a month. Many people still call it the SASSA pension or the old age grant. Our older persons grant guide covers how to apply, what to bring and what to do if a payment stops.

Disability Grant

For adults with a disability who pass the means test. It also pays R2,400 a month. SASSA decides whether your situation qualifies, and we do not publish medical rules we cannot source. Start with the disability grant guide.

Care Dependency Grant

For parents or carers of a child with a severe disability. The amount is R2,400 a month. It is a separate grant from the child support grant, with its own amount and its own rules. See the care dependency grant guide.

War Veterans Grant

For qualifying military veterans, at R2,420 a month, the highest figure in the table. The detailed rules on who counts as a qualifying veteran are not in our fact base, so ask SASSA before you apply.

Foster Child Grant

For foster parents of a child placed by a court. The figure is R1,295 in the Budget Review coverage and R1,290 on the Department of Social Development’s schedule page. The foster child grant guide explains both numbers.

Child Support Grant

For the main caregiver of a child under 18, at R580 a month. The wording says “main caregiver”, not “parent”, so the person who looks after the child day to day is the one who applies. Read the child support grant guide for documents and application routes.

Grant-in-Aid

For people who need a full-time carer and already receive a qualifying grant, at R580 a month. Because you must already receive a qualifying grant, it works alongside another grant, not instead of one. Ask SASSA which grants count as qualifying.

SRD grant

For adults aged 18 to 59 with little or no income who pass the monthly checks, at R370 a month. It is applied for online only. The SRD eligibility and means test guide lists the nine criteria, and the SRD application guide covers applying.

Which SASSA grant should you apply for?

Work down this list and stop at the first line that describes you.

1. You are 60 or older. Start with the Older Persons Grant.
2. You are an adult living with a disability. Look at the Disability Grant.
3. You look after a child under 18. Look at the Child Support Grant.
4. The child you care for has a severe disability. Look at the Care Dependency Grant.
5. A court placed a foster child with you. Look at the Foster Child Grant.
6. You are a military veteran. Ask about the War Veterans Grant.
7. You already receive a qualifying grant and need a full-time carer. Ask about the Grant-in-Aid.
8. You are 18 to 59, have little or no income and none of the above fits. SRD may be the one.

Do not choose by the biggest amount. Each grant is built for a situation, and SASSA assesses whether you meet its rules. If you apply for a grant that does not fit, you lose time.

Some people fit more than one line. SRD has a clear rule: it is not paid if you receive another social grant for yourself. For combinations of other grants, ask SASSA before you apply, either at an office or on the call centre number below.

How does the means test work?

A means test checks whether your income and assets are low enough for you to need support. Several grants in this guide use one, including the older persons, disability and child support grants, and SRD has its own version.

What we can confirm is the principle:

• SASSA assesses your income and, for several grants, your assets.
• For SRD, SASSA looks at your income and your spouse’s income if you are married.
• For SRD, SASSA also checks other data every month, including external databases such as banks, so a result can change from one month to the next.

What we cannot confirm is the numbers. SASSA sets the thresholds for each grant, and they are not in the sources this site is built on, so we do not print them. Get the current figures from a SASSA office, from sassa.gov.za or from the toll-free call centre on 0800 60 10 11. The figure people quote for SRD is discussed, with the appropriate warnings, in the SRD means test guide.

Where do you apply?

The two portals are separate systems, so use the one that matches the grant you want. For an office, SASSA’s directory on sassa.gov.za lists them, and you should take your original ID. SASSA also asks beneficiaries not to visit offices unnecessarily, so check your documents before you go. Our SASSA offices guide explains how to find the right one.

What documents do you usually need?

SASSA decides the exact list for your grant and your circumstances. These are the documents people are typically asked for, so treat them as a starting point and confirm with SASSA before you travel:

• Your ID document (take the original).
• Proof of residence.
• Proof of income, and for some grants proof of assets.
• For a child’s grant, the child’s birth certificate.

SRD is different because it is online. The application flow we captured in June 2026 asks for details you type on screen, and new applicants must complete a facial biometric check before approval. Your screens may look slightly different.

When are SASSA grants paid?

The main grants are paid on fixed dates set out in the Department of Social Development’s 2026/27 schedule. In every month of that schedule, older persons grants are paid first, disability grants next and children’s grants last. A weekend or public holiday moves a payment to the next working day. November 2026 was revised because of the 4 November local government elections:

Dates are paid on or after the day shown, and a weekend or public holiday moves a payment to the next working day.

Grants under review are paid on Thursday 5 November 2026. The full list is in the 2026/27 payment schedule, and each grant has its own page: older persons, children’s grants and disability. Start at the payment dates hub for the month-by-month view.

SRD works differently. SASSA does not publish a fixed SRD calendar, and each applicant’s own pay day appears on the status card. See the SRD payment dates guide.

What happens after you apply?

SASSA assesses the application against the rules for that grant, including the means test. We do not have a sourced processing time for the non-SRD grants, so we will not give you one. What helps is practical:

• Keep any receipt, reference or confirmation you are given, and write down the date you applied.
• Avoid applying twice for the same grant while you wait. For SRD, use the status check on the portal, which shows your result month by month.
• If you are approved, your grant is paid on the date for its group in the schedule, and SASSA’s booklet lists “not claimed within 90 days of approval” as a reason a grant can lapse. The booklet is written for social grants in general, so confirm with SASSA how that applies to you.

What if your application is declined?

For SRD, SASSA Mpumalanga said in January 2026 that a declined applicant has the right to appeal, and each declined month is appealed separately. Our SRD appeal guide walks through it. For the other grants, our sources do not describe the appeal route, so ask SASSA at an office or on the call centre why the application was declined and what your options are. Ask early, and keep your documents together.

Where can you get help?

The toll-free call centre is 0800 60 10 11, and the enquiries email address is [email protected]. The call centre is reported to run in weekday working hours, so confirm on sassa.gov.za before you rely on a specific time. The SASSA contact numbers guide lists every channel in the 2026 booklet. If you suspect fraud, use the anti-fraud line, 0800 701 701.

Mistakes that cost people time

• Using the wrong portal. SRD and the other grants are separate systems.
• Trusting an old amount. Check the date on any page that quotes a figure.
• Paying a helper. Nobody needs a fee to apply, and no one can promise an approval.
• Turning up without papers. One missing document means a second trip.
• Treating an SRD decline as a verdict on every grant. SRD has its own rules, and a decline there says nothing about, say, a child support application.

Every guide in this series

SRD and eligibility

• Who qualifies for SRD and the means test
• How to apply for SRD
• Will the SRD grant end in 2027?

Amounts and payments

• SASSA grant amounts and the latest increase
• SASSA payment schedule 2026/27
• SASSA gold card and Postbank

Individual grants

• Child support grant and child grant balance check
• Older persons grant (SASSA pension)
• Disability grant
• Foster child grant
• Care dependency grant