Planning ahead for the coming month is essential, which is why grant recipients in South Africa need to know the SASSA payment dates for April 2022. This is especially true for those receiving the old age pension grant.
Fortunately, the South African Social Security Agency has published the payment schedule for 2022 and 2023 on its website, thereby providing much-needed certainty.
SASSA payment dates for April 2022
SASSA’s payment schedule indicates that payment dates for April 2022 for normal grants, including old age pension, are as follows:
- 4 April – Older Persons Pension Grant.
- 5 April – Disability Grants.
- 6 April – all other grants.
Grant increases start
Meanwhile, social grant increases announced in the February 2022 budget by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will officially start in April.
In case you missed it, the old age, war veterans, disability and care dependency grants will increase by R90 in April and by a further R10 in October. The foster care and child support grants will increase by a once off R20 in April.
Godongwana also said the Department of Social Development will initiate a new extended child support grant for double orphans to encourage “the care of orphans within families rather than foster care.”
Here is what grant recipients will get once the increases kick in, according to SASSA:
| Grant | Current | April 2022 | October 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old age (below 75 years) | R1,890 | R1,980 | R1,990 |
| Old age (above 75 years) | R1,910 | R2,000 | R2,010 |
| War veterans | R1,890 | R1,980 | R1,990 |
| Disability | R1,890 | R1,980 | R1,990 |
| Care dependency | R1,890 | R1,980 | R1,990 |
| Foster care | R1,050 | R1070 | No increase |
| Child support | R460 | R480 | No increase |
| Grant in aid | R460 | R480 | No increase |
These increases are aimed at cushioning beneficiaries from the pressures of inflation, which often cause price increases in basic food items.
South Africa’s social safety net expanded considerably after the introduction of the social relief of distress (SRD) grant when COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in 2020.
The government now provides grants to over 46 percent of the population, with the Department of Social Development receiving the largest budget allocation over the medium term amounting to R58.6 billion.
Part of this amount will cover the extension of the R350 SRD grant for another year until March 2023. Discussions are underway for the government to continue providing some form of assistance to those who will still be employed when the grant lapses.
It is unclear at this stage whether this will take the form of a basic income grant or a further SRD extension.