Latest news with #R370
The South African
a day ago
- Business
- The South African
SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025 disbursed this WEEK
SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025 will be disbursed this week, on Tuesday 3 June 2025. And not a moment too soon, following the uncertainty over Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Budget. As many will remember, SASSA grant increases were actioned back in April 2025, however, there was uncertainty whether VAT increases being overruled might lead to a reduction in SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025 Nevertheless, it's been confirmed that the Department of Social Development (DSD) budget allocation of R285-billion for social grants in the 2025/26 is unchanged. However, recipients of SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025 should make the most of the above-inflation adjustment. Because the allotment actually drops again in 2026/27, to just R260-billion, due to the redistribution/repurposing of SRD grants from next year … However, over 60s receiving SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025 needn't worry for now about their portion. The South African Social Security Agency's rejig of SRD into a universal basic income grant could actually free up even more money for SASSA 'core' grants like Older Persons, for those who actually need the financial assistance. For now, South Africa's elderly enjoy above-inflation increases from earlier this year. In fact, South Africa's pensioners over 75 enjoy the highest grant paid out nationally – R2 330. While over 60s receive R2 310 monthly. Let's remind you who is eligible. And if you haven't done so already, how you can apply … The 2025 Postbank Black card debacle has left SASSA wanting to cut ties completely with Postbank. Image: File Roughly 28-million residents receive SASSA grants each month (45% of the population) in South Africa. The vast majority of these are R370 SRD grants and child support. However, many would argue the most critical are more than 4-million elderly pensioners. If you are over 60 and meet the following financial qualifying criteria, you should absolutely apply for SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025. Note that all applications must be done at a SASSA office with an official present to oversee and assist you. Be sure to present the following documents and biometric data: Official identity document (ID) – smart card or green booklet. Documents proving marital status. Proof of residence (a utility bill with your name on it qualifies). Confirmation of proof of income and/or financial dividends. All information regarding your assets, including a valuation of property. Declaration of any private pension in your name (if applicable). Valid three months' statements certified by your bank (not more than three months old). Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) membership book, or discharge certificate from your previous employer. A copy of your will, and first and final liquidation and distribution accounts if your spouse has passed away in the last five years. Take note of the remaining SASSA Older Person grant pay dates for 2025. Image: File Furthermore, SASSA has started strict mandatory data checks with Home Affairs, Correctional Services, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund for grant applicants. Likewise, SASSA now has biometric verification for grant beneficiaries using alternative forms of identification, other than the standard 13-digit South African ID number. These checks will only increase in voracity as SASSA expects to deliver quarterly reports to Parliament on the efficiency of its progress. This is all in the name of ensuring grants are reviewed and cancelled in good time to save money per recipient. Millions are spent annually on paying grants to long-dead recipients (presumably to other family members still collecting the grants). More importantly, the agency needs to be able to confirm an applicant's income and assets. Those who have sufficient means through a private pension, savings and personal assets, will not be granted SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025. Moreover, it was announced in Parliament recently that SASSA will conduct stricter financial checks on beneficiaries in a bid to keep fraud/wastage down. This takes the form of monthly spot-checks on applicants' bank accounts to ensure they're not lying about their income. And this is not just for SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025 but also SRD, child support, disability and care dependency. If you're over 60, here's how you can apply for SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025. Image: File SASSA officials will enforce the following income and asset limits: You cannot earn more than R8 070 per month ( R96 840 per year) if single. per month ( per year) if single. The income limit is R16 140 per month ( R193 680 per year) if married. per month ( per year) if married. Total value of your assets declared must not exceed R1 372 800 if single. if single. And your assets cannot be valued higher than R2 745 600 if married. Thankfully, these asset and means tests have not changed in several years. Even though SASSA Older Person grants in June 2025 are higher than they've ever been. And remember, if your grant application is denied, you have 90 days to appeal the decision with the Department of Social Development. For application queries you can contact SASSA directly here: SASSA Toll-Free Call: 0800 60 10 11 SASSA Head Office: 012 400 2322 Email SASSA: grantenquiries@ Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Eyewitness News
3 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Treasury stands firm on unaffordability of continued extension of SRD grant
CAPE TOWN - Treasury is standing firm on the unaffordability of the continued extension of the social relief of distress (SRD) grant introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has budgeted R35.2 billion to pay the grant in this financial year, while also appealing a high court ruling that it relaxes its criteria for eligibility to include thousands more people. Delivering the second version of the budget in March, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the grant would be extended for yet another year. That is unchanged in the current version of the budget. ALSO READ: • SARS expects to see impact of increase in tax collection efforts from Q2 • Expanding list of tax-free food items won't benefit poorer households: Treasury • Treasury defends fuel levy increase However, responding to public submissions on the budget in Parliament on Friday, Treasury's head of public finance, Rendani Randela, said that Treasury has no choice but to appeal January's high court ruling that it include thousands more to receive the monthly R370 stipend. "That judgment is a fiscal risk on its own. And again, we are looking at the bigger picture here. Social assistance is not the only programme that we have, we also have other social assistance programmes outside the Department of Social Development." With 61% of the national budget going towards the social wage, Randela said Treasury believes that the existing social support net covers many of those also eligible for the SRD grant and double-dipping has to be avoided. Government is yet to take a decision on persistent calls from civil society for the SRD grant to become a basic income grant. "There's no way that we can't have a mechanism to filter out undeserving recipients of these social assistance programmes. That's why we are appealing that judgment because the way it is, if we don't challenge it, it is unaffordable."
The South African
6 days ago
- General
- The South African
Here's how to check your SASSA SRD R370 grant on your phone
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) pays out a Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant of R370 to South Africans who do not have an income. Staying up to date with your balance is important as it helps you confirm whether your payment has been processed or not. The good news is that you can check your balance with just the tip of your fingers. You can check your SASSA SRD R370 grant in three ways when using your phone. Here's a breakdown of how you can check your balance: Dial *120*69277#. Choose the balance option from the menu shown. Enter your Identification Document (ID) number and choose to submit. Your SRD balance will then be shown. If you can't access the USSD service, you can check your balance on WhatsApp: WhatsApp 0600 123 456, say Hi and write your enquiry. SASSA will then request your ID and reference number. Your balance will then be shown. If neither of these options is working, you can check your balance on the SRD web portal by following these steps: Visit the SRD website at If you are a South African citizen, click on South African ID holders and enter your ID number. If you do not have a valid South African ID or are an Asylum Seeker, click on the Asylum Seeker and Special Permit Holder option and enter your file number or Passport number and follow the prompts. Click on application status, where you will be required to enter your ID number and the contact number you used when applying. Click on submit when you are done and go to the application complete tab. Scroll down to the current month and check for your status and the date you will get paid. Additionally, you can also check your SASSA R370 balance by visiting your nearest SASSA post office. Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The South African
Kid Cudi testifies Diddy looked 'like a Marvel supervillain'
The Manhattan federal court was abuzz this week as Grammy-winning rapper Kid Cudi, real name Scott Mescudi, took the stand in Sean 'Diddy' Combs's high-profile trial. The case, already packed with drama, took a wild turn as Cudi detailed a fiery incident that left his luxury Porsche in ruins and fingers pointed squarely at Diddy. It was January 2012 when Cudi's dog sitter rang him early in the morning with alarming news. 'Your car is on fire,' she said. Rushing outside, Kid Cudi found his Porsche 911 Cabriolet scorched on the driver's side. A Molotov cocktail lay nearby. He didn't mince words in court: 'I believe Diddy had something to do with it,' Cudi testified. The judge struck the comment from the record, but the message was clear. Diddy's lawyers noted that female DNA was found on the car and pushed back against the claims. However, the suspicion lingered, according to Page Six. Why would Diddy target Cudi? The answer, it seems, is jealousy. Kid Cudi had a brief romance with Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, who was Diddy's on-again, off-again partner. Cudi claimed he didn't know Cassie was still seeing Diddy. 'I was in love with her,' he said. Cassie, meanwhile, appeared 'stressed, nervous, scared' and admitted to giving Diddy Cudi's address. The drama didn't end with the car fire. In December 2011, Diddy's assistant allegedly told Cudi that Diddy had broken into his Los Angeles home. Kid Cudi arrived to find gifts opened and his dog locked in the bathroom. 'You in my house?' he shouted at Diddy over the phone, as Diddy replied, 'I just want to talk to you'. Kid Cudi and Diddy later met at Soho House. 'He looked like a Marvel supervillain,' Cudi said, describing Diddy staring out the window, hands behind his back. When asked about the car, Diddy gave a 'cold stare' and said, 'I don't know what you're talking about'. Cassie's mother, Regina Ventura, also revealed another shocking detail. Diddy allegedly demanded R370,000 (converted from $20,000) from Cassie's parents because of her fling with Cudi. 'He was angry that he had spent money on her and she had been with another person,' Regina testified. She feared for their daughter's safety, so the Venturas took out a home loan to pay. Diddy faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and more, The rapper has denied all allegations. If convicted, he could spend his life behind bars. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Social grant increases remain in place in budget 3.0
Godongwana said the government is 'actively exploring various options to better integrate' the SRD grant with employment opportunities. The budget 3.0 will not affect increases to all South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) social grants. This comes as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his third budget speech on Wednesday in Cape Town. According to the National Treasury's 2025 budget overview, the number of social grant beneficiaries, excluding those receiving the social relief of distress (SRD) grant, is projected to increase to 19.3 million people by March 2028. Grant increases The grant increases for 2025/26 are as follows: Old age grant will increase from R2185 to R2315 War veterans' grant will increase from R2205 to R2335 Disability grant will go up from R2185 to R2315 Foster care grant rises from R1180 to R1250 Care dependency grant will increase from R2185 to R2315 Child support grant will go up from R530 to R560 The grant-in-aid will increase from R530 to R560 ALSO READ: Sassa beneficiaries frustrated over delayed payments [VIDEO] 'Employment opportunities' The increase in the social grants budget of R1.6 billion in 2025/26 will remain. 'The temporary Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant will be extended until 31 March 2026, with R35.2 billion allocated to maintain the current R370 per month per beneficiary, including administration costs,' National Treasury said. Godongwana said the government is 'actively exploring various options to better integrate' the SRD grant with employment opportunities. 'This includes considering a job-seeker allowance and other measures, as part of the review of Active Labour Market Programmes. 'Our goal is to not only provide immediate relief. It is also to create pathways to employment, empowering our citizens to build better futures for themselves and their families,' the minister added. ALSO READ: Sassa offices 'reach capacity for the day'? We have no policy to turn people away, says agency The payment of the R370 grant usually takes place at the end of every month from the 25th. The agency's grant payment department, however, does not pay grants on public holidays or weekends, and with the 25th of May being a Sunday, grants will be paid earlier. Sassa spokesperson Andile Tshona confirmed to The Citizen that this month's SRD grant payment will be processed from 23 to 28 May. NOW READ: Early pay in May: Good news for Sassa SRD grant beneficiaries
