The changes in the social protection system of South Africa that occurred in 2025 were primarily driven by the SASSA (South African Social Security Agency) grants for the elderly, disabled, children, and orphans. The Government wishes to control inflation to that degree and has therefore released the 2025 rates along with the full breakdown of the aforementioned factors, including the changes in eligibility and a sneak peek at what is coming for the beneficiaries of the grants.
Biggest Increases Beginning in April 2025
At the Budget Speech for 2025, the Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, stated that the disbursement of most SASSA grants (except for SRD) would start on April 1, 2025, which is the very first day of the month.
- Among these changes, the Old-age pension/Older Persons Grant to the 60-74 age group will have a monthly amount of R130 raised, respectively, from R2,185 to R2,315.
- Old-age pension (75 years and older): it will be a little bit more, R2,335 per month.
- Disability grant and Care dependency grant: both the amounts are raised to R2,315.
- War Veterans grant: the sum has been raised to R2,335.
- Foster Care grant: R1,180 will become R1,250.
- Every child is to receive a monthly Child support grant of R560 now instead of R530.
- The Grant-in-aid increase is also R560 now.
These increases are intended to help grant recipients cope with higher living costs.
Possible More Increase in October 2025
From October 1, 2025, only a very small increase will be applied for the grants given to the elderly. Some experts believe that the aged might expect an extra R10 and subsequently the same increase for other grants. In that case, the maximum amount for the young old (60-74 years) might be set at R2,190 (or even more depending on the policy decision) and there would be similar increases for the older old (75+ years) as well. However, in general, these increases are seen as speculative until the end of 2025 or mid-2025 when they will be officially revealed.
Payment Dates and Distribution Method
SASSA beneficiaries will usually get their monthly grants in the first week of the following month, in the same order as mentioned above: older people first, then disabled, followed by children, and so on.
So the distribution for the month of October 2025 would be:
- Older Persons Grant: Thursday, October 02 Disability Grant: Friday, October 03 Children’s Grants: Monday, October 06
- The users of these grants can either receive their money via direct transfer into their bank accounts or they can get paid at one of the selected places (stores or cash outlets).
It should be noted that those who decide not to take their money right away will not be at any disadvantage— the money will remain in their account until they withdraw it.
Eligibility, Means Test & Reviews
The application for old age pensions as a part of the applicant’s income is subjected to a tripartite process:
- (1) the age limit set up by the government (60+ years), (2) citizenship or residency status (only SA citizens and perm. residents can apply), and (3) the means test which analyzes the income and assets of the applicant(s).
- For married couples, means testing is done together, and both the parties receiving benefits must reveal the sources of their other income, pensions, and assets.
- Starting from 2025, SASSA is going to heavily depend on the verification audits, the biometric enrolment and the routine audits of incomes of the suspected applicants hiding their incomes.
Such individuals who do not fulfill the criteria during the review process will have their grants either frozen or terminated and in some situations, they might even have to return the overpayments they received previously.
Impact & Challenges
The hike in grant amounts is still below inflation and the real cost of living is being endured by-whoever-mostly, especially in the case of basic needs like food, transport and healthcare.Additionally, administrative problems (like SASSA’s long queues, slow biometric capturing and requirements being misunderstood) can make the benefits less accessible. The measures against fraud which cover application for fraud prevention, verification processes and tighter monitoring are certainly necessary, but at the same time, they do pose the risk of denying benefits to innocent beneficiaries, if the whole process is not handled properly.
also read : NERSA October 2025 Electricity Price Hike: How Much More South Africans Will Pay