‘Survive on R2 400 per month’: South Africans dare leaders to live like pensioners

0 Money and elder hands. Image: Pexels Home » Lifestyle » SASSA » ‘Survive on R2 400 per month’: South Africans dare leaders to live like pensioners

Pensioners’ monthly payout sparks a fiery online debate about who really funds grants and who should try living on them.

0 Money and elder hands. Image: Pexels Older South Africans who depend on the SASSA Old Age Grant have landed at the centre of a heated online debate, with commenters on The South African’s Facebook page questioning whether the monthly payout even covers the basics.

The discussion erupted under a post asking whether grant recipients could survive on about R80 a day, roughly what the R2 400 grant works out to over a 30-day month.

Billy Brown turned the question back on the country’s leaders.

“Ask any of the top members to survive on R2400 per month. Can they?” he wrote.

His comment struck a nerve. Many pensioners stretch the grant across food, electricity, transport and medication, and in many households, grandparents use the same money to feed and school grandchildren. For them, R80 a day often has to cover more than one person.

Dorothy M Msiza took aim at the idea that any political party deserves credit for social grants.

“Our grants are from taxpayers”, she wrote.

She is right about where the money comes from. Government funds social grants through the national budget, which draws on tax revenue, and SASSA administers payments on behalf of the Department of Social Development. No political party pays grants from its own pocket.

Msiza also raised a second, quieter concern: older recipients with little formal schooling face a higher risk of exploitation. Scammers regularly target pensioners with fake SMSes and phone calls. SASSA never asks beneficiaries for their PIN or card details over the phone.

The Older Persons Grant currently pays R2 400 a month to recipients aged 60 and older.

Applicants must pass a means test. A single applicant may earn no more than R107 640 a year to qualify.

The debate comes in election week. SASSA paid November’s old-age grants on Friday, 30 October, to avoid clashing with the local government elections on Wednesday, 4 November.

If you receive a SASSA grant and want to share your story, we want to hear from you.

Take part in our survey and stand a chance to win R2 000. Your responses help us tell the stories that matter.

0 comments WIN R250 every day in The South African’s Festive Quiz. Good luck!