Which SASSA grant fits?

The grants at a glance

The SASSA grants, who each is for and whether there is a means test

Grant	Who it's for	Means test
Older persons grant	People aged 60 or older	Yes
Disability grant	People aged 18 to 59 with a disability that lasts 6 months or more	Yes
Grant-in-aid	People on an older persons, disability or war veterans grant who need full-time care	With the main grant
Child support grant	The person who mainly looks after a child under 18	Yes
Foster child grant	A foster parent with a court order	No
Care dependency grant	The parent, caregiver or foster parent of a child under 18 with a severe disability	Yes, but not for foster parents

When each grant for a child ends

Grant	Ends
Child support grant	The last day of the month the child turns 18
Care dependency grant	The last day of the month the child turns 18; from then, the disability grant
Foster child grant	The end of the year the child turns 18, or 21 if the stay in foster care is extended

How the grant finder works

• Who can get a grant. South African citizens, permanent residents and refugees who live in South Africa. SASSA doesn’t pay a grant while someone lives full time in a fully state-funded institution, such as a state home for older persons or a child and youth care centre.
• Grants for adults. The older persons grant starts at 60. The disability grant is for people from 18 whose disability will last 6 to 12 months (a temporary grant) or longer (a permanent one). At 60, SASSA pays the older persons grant instead: you can’t get both. The grant-in-aid is added to either grant when you need someone to care for you full time.
• Grants for children. The child support grant goes to the person who mainly looks after the child, who doesn’t have to be a parent. If the child isn’t your own, you can get it for up to 6 such children. SASSA doesn’t pay it if you already get another grant for the same child.
• Foster children. The foster child grant needs a court order and has no means test. A foster child with a severe disability can get the care dependency grant as well, and a foster parent’s income doesn’t count for it.
• When a child’s grant ends. The finder works out the date from the child’s date of birth, by the rules in the table above. The foster child grant can continue until the end of the year the young person turns 21, if the provincial head of social development lets them stay in your care to finish grade 12, higher education, college, an internship or a learnership.
• Documents. The list for each grant comes from SASSA’s grant booklet and the regulations. Your answers leave out what doesn’t apply to you, such as a refugee permit or proof of school attendance for a child under 7.

What this tool can’t do

• It doesn’t do the means test. SASSA checks your income and assets against limits that are set every year. SASSA’s website and call centre, under Official help below, have the current limits and amounts.
• It doesn’t cover the war veterans grant, for people who served in the Second World War or the Korean War, or child-headed households. Ask SASSA about them.
• It doesn’t cover the SRD grant, which has its own rules: see the SRD grant.
• SASSA decides. It can ask for more documents at your interview, and it assesses a disability with its own doctor.

Print your list

When a grant may fit, “Print this list” prints only your result, with the documents for each grant. Your browser’s print dialog can also save it as a PDF on your device. Nothing is sent to us.