(Last Updated: 20 May 2026)

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is a government entity responsible for distributing various types of grants, to approximately 18 million people in South Africa. SASSA has been operating since 2006, with the aim of providing financial assistance to citizens who experience the devastating impact of poverty and unemployment.

On this page, we will outline the types of grants awarded by SASSA, as well as the grant amounts and some basic criteria. To find out more about any of these grants, you can visit the link next to the grant type for further details.

SRD Grant Status Check Types of Grants How to Apply Status Check
Payment Dates Jobs & Vacancies Updates & Blog Contact SASSA

What is a Social Grant?

A Social Grant is financial aid paid by the South African government to citizens, as well as to permanent residents, or refugees in need. The grant is awarded each month, for a fixed period or extended period of time.

Social Grants were established to provide financial assistance to individuals who do not have the means to support themselves, with grant recipients usually being older people, those with young children, and/or those living with disabilities.

In order to qualify for a Social Grant, the applicant must live in South Africa and be a South African citizen, permanent resident, or refugee and pass a means test. A means test is used to assess the applicants income and assets in order to determine whether they qualify for a social grant. 

What are the different types of social grants?

SRD GRANT

The Social Relief of Distress grant (SRD) was created to give temporary assistance to people in dire need, formed during the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused a large amount of job losses (particularly for lower earners).

To qualify for SRD grant:

• The household breadwinner must be determined medically unable to work for a period of less than 6 months OR
• The household breadwinner must be admitted to a public or private institution for a period of at least 1 month OR
• The household breadwinner must have passed away OR
• You must be awaiting the payment of an approved social grant OR
• You must have been affected by a disaster (but your area/community has not been declared a disaster area)

In the event of the breadwinner passing on, the application for the SRD grant must be made within 12 months of the death.

The current SRD Grant value is R370 per month. Read more about the SRD Grant here.

CARE DEPENDENCY GRANT

The Care Dependency Grant (CDG) is a social grant designed to fund a caregiver of a severely physically/ mentally disabled child. The child must be under 18 years old, be determined permanently disabled, and require permanent care/ support owing to their disability. This Grant was created to alleviate a portion of the costs many face when having to support a child that needs a lot of professional care.

The caregiver (grant recipient) can be the child’s primary caregiver or their foster parent.

It’s important to note that should the child be in a government institution, and receiving full-time care for more than a period of six months, the caregiver will then NOT be eligible for the grant.

The current Care Dependency Grant value is R2 400 per month (as of 1 April 2026). Read more about the Care Dependency Grant here.

CHILD SUPPORT GRANT

A Child Support Grant (CSG) was created to aid biological parent(s) or permanent caregivers who may not have the means to support their child/children. The CSG grant is for the primary care giver of a child under the age of 18 years.

The grant is paid to the primary caregiver – the primary caregiver must be:

• Over the age of 16 years old
• The biological parent of the child or someone not related to the child*
• Responsible for taking care of all the child’s basic needs

*The grant can be paid to individuals who are not the biological parents of the children. In such instances, these individuals will only qualify for the grant if they prove they are the primary caregiver.

The current Child Support Grant value is R580 per month (and R280 top-up) (as of 1 April 2026). Read more about the Child Support Grant here. 

DISABILITY GRANT

The Disability Grant (DG) is available to individuals who are unable to work owing to a disability. The DG can be awarded on a temporary or permanent basis, spanning between a period of 6 and 12 months. If the temporary DG expires, and the grant recipient has not yet recovered from their ailment, they will then need to reapply for the grant.

The Grant is available to individuals who are:

• Between 18 and 59 years old
• Living with a physical/ mental disability
• Unable to obtain the necessary means/ money to survive

When applying for a disability grant, you will need to provide proof of disability (this can be a medical assessment or report and must be no older than three months).

The current Disability Grant value is R2 400 per month (as of 1 April 2026) (based on a sliding scale, however this is the maximum amount). Read more about the Disability Grant here. 

FOSTER CHILD GRANT

A Foster Child Grant (FCG) is a grant awarded for children living in foster care through a Children’s Court. The child must be under 18 years old and legally placed within foster care. The foster parent (i.e. any person who is not the biological parent and has custody of the child) is the individual who will receive the grant.

The foster parent is selected by the Magistrates Court, with the aid of social workers from the Provincial Department of Social Development. To meet the criteria for the FCG, the foster parent will need to submit a court order indicating the foster care status and ensure that both them and the child live within South Africa.

The grant will only be valid for the duration of the court order and before it expires, a social worker will need to assess the case to ensure the child’s circumstances have not changed. If so, a court order extension must be obtained and depending on the extension, the grant can then continue until its following expiry date.

A FCG can continue until the child is 21 years old, provided the child attends an institution of learning. All FCG applications must be completed each year after the child has turned 18 years old, with evidence of attending attendance and the extension order being provided.

The current Foster Child Grant value is R1 290 per month (as of 1 April 2026). Read more about the Foster Child Grant here.

OLDER PERSONS GRANT

An older person’s grant (also known as an old age grant or old age pension) is for individuals over the age of 60. These individuals must not be in a government institution and not receive any other grant. It’s important to note that if an older person is a resident in a subsidized facility (such as an old age home), they may then still apply for the grant. Applicants will also be subject to a means test which assesses their income and assets.

The current Older Persons Grant value is R2 400 or R2 420 per month (as of 1 April 2026) (people between 60 and 75 years old will receive the lesser amount, while people over 75 years old will receive the greater amount). Read more about the Older Persons Grant here.

GRANT-IN-AID

A Grant-In-Aid (GIA) is an additional grant awarded to individuals who receive a Social Grant and are in need of assistance with performing necessary tasks.

GIA is granted to individuals receiving Old Age, Disability, or War Veteran Grants in need of regular assistance owing to various disabilities.

The grant was created to help those who can not bathe, clean their house, do laundry, wash themselves, or perform any other task to handle daily living owing to severe physical and/ or mental ailments.

The current Grant-In-Aid value is R580 per month (as of 1 April 2026). Read more about the Grant-In-Aid here.

WAR VETERANS GRANT

The War Veterans grant (WVG) is paid to individuals who served in the Second World War or Korean War. These individuals must be older than 60 years, disabled, be cared for in a state institution, and not receive any other adult grant.

The current War Veterans grant value is R2 420 per month (as of 1 April 2026). Read more about the War Veterans Grant here.

CONTACT SASSA

For any further queries, please contact SASSA directly:
Contact the SASSA Toll Free Call centre on: 0800 60 10 11
Contact the SASSA Anti-Fraud number on: 0800 701 701
Contact the SASSA Head Office on: 012 400 2322
Email SASSA Head Office at: Grantsenquiries@sassa.gov.za
Contact details of SASSA offices across the country: SASSA contact details

article source: SASSA official website

written by: Thabo Maseko