The Social Security Administration assigns Social Security numbers, and administers the Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability insurance programs. They also administer the Supplemental Security Income program for the aged, blind, and disabled.
Social Security Services In South Africa
SASSA Head Office.
South African Social Security Agency
Social Security Services Agency Estcourt Branch
SASSA branch (Social Security Services Agency)
This guide explains what you need to know about social security in South Africa. This includes how the South African social security system works, who pays SASSA contributions, the amount of SASSA payments, what receives coverage, who can claim SASSA grants, and how to apply.
SASSA grants cover the following areas:
Older persons
War Veteran’s Grant
Grants In Aid
Disability Grant
Child Support Grant
Care Dependency Grant
Foster Child Grant
Social Relief in Distress
The social security system in South Africa
In South Africa, social security comprises of funding from national income tax and payments into insurance-based funds, and overseen by the Ministry of Social Development.
The social grants in South Africa administered by SASSA are funded by national taxes but are means-tested; it only pays out if you receive below a certain income threshold and does not rely on the amount of your SASSA payments.
Work-related social security benefits such as unemployment, sickness or maternity pay, however, are insurance-based and linked to your SASSA payments. The Department of Labor (www.labour.gov.za) administers these.
Healthcare benefits are the responsibility of the Department of Health, which runs provincial hospitals in South Africa. South African citizens and permanent residents can access free primary healthcare whereas temporary residents typically have to take out private health insurance or international health insurance.
Who must contribute SASSA payments?
SASSA payments
SASSA payments receive funds through national taxes. South Africa has a progressive rate of income tax that ranges from 18–41 percent depending on your income bracket. These SASSA grants are means-tested and paid to South African citizens and permanent residents with income or earnings below certain thresholds. Find more information in our guide to income taxes in South Africa.
Healthcare
Citizens and permanent residents in South Africa have access to free primary healthcare. This is means-tested and mostly available to those on lower incomes. Those who earn above the threshold will have to pay for either part or all of any treatment they receive through the public health service. Read more about the South African healthcare system.
Unemployment insurance
Unemployment benefits pay through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The base of these benefits is monthly contributions of 2% of salaries (1% from the employer and 1% from the worker). This is also available to foreign permanent residents who work legally in the country.
Temporary residents and students
Temporary foreign residents and students cannot receive SASSA grants or unemployment insurance. They are also responsible for taking out their own health insurance in South Africa.
Citizens and permanent residences
Foreigners are only able to access social security benefits in South Africa if they become South African citizens or take up permanent residence (by applying for a Section 25 permit) in South Africa.
Self-employed
Those who are freelancers do not receive coverage from the Unemployment Insurance Fund, so have to make their own arrangements. Self-employed workers are also responsible for sorting out their own pension and medical insurance arrangements.
SASSA grants and benefits
All SASSA grants are fundamentally social assistance services with coverage from the social security fund in South Africa. There are means-tested SASSA grants available to citizens and permanent residents living in South Africa who are not residing in a state-funded institution (e.g., prison or state old age home). Those residing in a state-funded care institution will have their grant amount reduced to 25 percent of the maximum amount for the duration of their stay. Recipients are only able to claim for one SASSA grant at any given time.
SASSA grants for older persons
This is a SASSA pension available to any South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee living in South Africa aged 60 or above. Like all SASSA grants, it is means-tested. It is available to anyone earning less than ZAR 69,000 a year or with assets worth less than ZAR 990,000. If you live with a spouse, the total income cannot be more than ZAR 138,000 and total assets cannot be more than ZAR 1,980,000.
The maximum pension SASSA grant amounts are around ZAR 1,500 per month, rising to ZAR 1,520 per month for those aged over 75.
Some requirements include:
- Being a South African citizen / permanent resident
- A resident of South Africa;
- 60 years or older;
- Applicant and spouse must comply with the means test;
- Must not be receive care from a state institution;
- Must not be in receipt of another social grant for him or herself.
SASSA child grant
A SASSA child grant pays out to the primary caregivers of children under 18, as long as the caregiver is a South African citizen or permanent resident and both the applicant and child live in South Africa. The caregiver must be over 16.
To meet the means-test requirements, the applicant must not earn more than ZAR 42,000 per year, or have a combined income of more than ZAR 84,000 if living with a spouse. The SASSA grant amounts to around ZAR 350 per month per child. This grant pays for up to six children who are the biological or legally adopted children of the applicant.
Some SASSA requirements include:
- the primary caregiver must be a South African citizen or permanent resident;
- both the applicant and the child must reside in South Africa;
- applicant must be the primary caregiver of the child/ children concerned;
- the child/children must be 15 years or younger;
- the applicant and spouse must meet the requirements of the means test;
- cannot apply for more than six non-biological children;
- child cannot receive care from a state institution.
Insurance-based pensions
Social security in South Africa doesn’t include a contribution-based state pension. Those that do not meet the requirements of the means test for the Grants for Older Persons will have to opt for a contributory occupational-based or private retirement fund. The insurance industry also offers cover for those that can afford it.
Full-time employees should have access to their employer’s private pension or provident fund which is jointly contributed by employers and employees. Part-time and casual employees often don’t have access to this and freelance workers are responsible for setting up their own arrangements.
More information is available in our guide to pensions in South Africa.
War veteran’s SASSA grant
This is a SASSA grant available to those over 60 that are registered disabled and have fought in the Second World War or the Korean War. The means test thresholds and amounts paid are the same as for the Grants for Older Persons.
The applicant must:
- be a South African citizen / permanent resident
- live in South Africa;
- 60 years and over or must be disabled;
- have fought in the Second World War or the Korean War;
- their spouse must meet the requirements of the means test;
- not be receiving care from a State Institution; and
- not be in receipt of another Social grant in respect of himself or herself.
Disability SASSA grant
This is a SASSA grant paid to those aged between 18 and 59 who have been assessed as medically disabled within the three months preceding their grant application. As with other SASSA grants, applicants and their spouse must meet the requirements of the income-means test. The threshold amounts for the means-test are the same as for the old age SASSA grants.
You can apply for a disability SASSA grant if you have a physical or mental disability that makes you unfit for work for a period of longer than six months. You can get a permanent disability grant if your condition lasts longer than 12 months or a temporary disability grant if your disability will last for between six to 12 months.
The maximum payment of this SASSA grant amount is ZAR R1,510.
Some SASSA requirements include that you:
- are a South African citizen / permanent resident or refugee;
- live in South Africa;
- be 18 to 59 years of age if a female and 18 to 62 years of age if a male;
- submit a medical / assessment report confirming disability;
- medical assessment must not be older than 3 months at date of application;
- applicant and spouse must meet the requirements of the means test;
- must not receive care from a state institution;
- must not be in receipt of another social grant in respect of him or herself.
Aid SASSA grants
This is an additional grant for recipients of a Grant for Older Persons, War Veteran’s Grant, or Disability Grant if they require full-time attendance owing to physical or mental disabilities. This is a payment of R350 a month to go towards the costs of a carer. The Grant In Aid must be in conjunction with another grant.
Some requirements include:
- The applicant must be in receipt of a grant for Older Persons;
- Disability grant or a War Veteran’s grant, and require full- time attendance by another person;
- Owing to his/her physical or mental disabilities;
- Must not receive care from an institution that receives subsidies from the government.
Care dependency SASSA grant
This is a SASSA grant for children under 18 with severe disabilities requiring full-time care. It pays out to parents, primary caregivers, or foster parents earning less than ZAR 180,000 if single or ZAR 360,000 if living with a spouse. As with the SASSA child grant, both carer and child must live in South Africa.
The current SASSA grant amount is ZAR 1,500 a month per child.
Care dependency grant requirements include:
- The applicant must be a South African citizen or permanent resident;
- The applicant and child live in South Africa;
- Age of child must be under 18 years;
- Must submit a medical / assessment report confirming permanent, severe disability;
- Applicant and spouse must meet the requirements of the means test (exceptions may exist for foster parents);
- The child/children must not receive care from a state institution.
Foster child SASSA grant
This SASSA grant is for foster parents of children under 18 with an official court order indicating foster care status. Both the applicant and child must reside in South Africa and the child must remain in the care of the foster parent while the social security benefit is being paid.
The SASSA grant amounts to ZAR 890 per month per child.
Social relief in distress
This is a temporary assistance SASSA grant for those in desperate need who are unable to meet the basic needs of themselves or their family. It pays out for a maximum of three months, with an extension of three months in exceptional cases.
This SASSA grant is for those with no access to any other funds. It usually pays in the form of food parcels or vouchers but in some instances may be cash.
What social services does the South African government provide?
Social Services
Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) Entity.
Compensation Fund (CF) Entity.
National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) Entity.
Productivity SA Entity.
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Entity.
What is the social security system in South Africa?
In terms of the White Paper, the social security system in South Africa is based on four fundamental and inter-related elements, namely; private savings, social insurance, social assistance and social relief. voluntarily save for unexpected contingencies such as disability, retirement and chronic diseases.
Is social services the same as Social Security in South Africa ?
as the social services, whereas in another the two are. involved in carrying out social security schemes requires other skills and a different training from the work in- volved with social services. for a social security scheme, the type of person for both activities would not be the same.
How is the right to social security is enforced in South Africa?
Section 27(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides that “everyone has the right of access to social security, including, if they are unable to support themselves and their dependants, appropriate social assistance”.
How can the right to social security be limited in South Africa?
Section 36( 1) determines that the rights in the Bill of Rights may be limited only in terms of law of general application to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom, taking into account all relevant factors including .