Government Under Pressure as Pensioners Demand Sassa Grant Hike to R5,000

The Department of Social Development says it finds itself “between a rock and a hard place” as pressure mounts to increase the Sassa pension grant to R5,000. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, the department responded to growing calls for a significant increase in support for elderly South Africans grappling with soaring living costs.

The current Sassa pension grant stands at R2,310 for those under 75 and R2,330 for those 75 and older. While slight increases are expected in October, social justice advocates and some members of Parliament say this is not nearly enough.

Riyad Isaac, who addressed Parliament’s portfolio committee on social development, stressed that too many pensioners are living below the poverty line and struggling to meet even basic expenses.

“I do understand that pensioners are now getting R2,310, but it is nowhere near enough to survive,” Isaac said. “They are the backbone of our society, yet they’re reaching out for food parcels just to get by.”

He acknowledged that a jump to R5,000 may be unrealistic at present, but suggested at the very least a R500 increase should be considered.

Department Pushes Back on Feasibility

Acting chief director of the Department of Social Development, Dr Maureen Mogotsi, acknowledged the hardship faced by older persons but said a R5,000 grant for all 4.1 million elderly beneficiaries would require an additional R246 billion—an amount the department simply cannot afford.

“It makes it difficult to argue for an increase of this particular grant because it is already the highest among all grants,” she said.

She pointed out that while the pension grant exceeds the upper-bound poverty line, other grants like the Child Support Grant fall below the food poverty line.

A Balancing Act in a Time of Need

With 19 million South Africans currently reliant on social grants—including 8.5 million receiving the Covid-19 SRD grant—the government faces a serious funding challenge. The social grant budget for the 2025/26 financial year already stands at R284.7 billion.

As older South Africans continue to voice their struggles, the government is left to weigh social justice against fiscal responsibility. And for now, it seems, pensioners will have to wait for a breakthrough that aligns compassion with capacity.

{Source: The Citizen}

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