SOCIAL GRANTS INFORMATION

A LIST OF GRANTS: PART II

Source: Adapted from an article in The Independent on Saturday, 23 Feb 2002. Courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd

Grant for the Aged:

To qualify for a Social Old Age Pension, you must be a man of 65 years or older, or a woman of 60 years or older. Value: R640 per month.

Disability Grant:

You qualify for a Disability Grant if you are older than 18 years and have a disability which makes it impossible for you to work. Your disability must be confirmed by a medical report from a medical officer or an assessment panel. If your disability is not permanent, you will be reassessed on an ongoing basis to check if you still require the grant. Value: R640.

Care Dependency Grant:

This grant is for children who are severely disabled and need special care. Parents or foster parents, whose combined yearly income is not over R48 000 per year after allowable deductions, may apply. The child's needs must be verified by a medical doctor in a government hospital. No sliding scale is applied. Should the child receive any additional income, it should not be more than twice the yearly amount of the Care Dependency grant. Value: R640 per month.

Child Support Grant:

This grant is given to the primary caregiver of a child or children (up to a maximum of six children) under the age of seven to help with costs in poor households. The caregiver may or may not be a relative of the child and must not receive any other income in respect of that child. The award of this grant depends on where you live. As a caregiver, you qualify if you: (1) live in a rural area in a formal or informal dwelling and your income is not more than R13 200 a year, (2) live in an urban area in a formal or informal dwelling and your income is not more than R13 200 a year, (3) live in an urban area in a formal dwelling and your income is not more than R9 600 a year. Value: R140 per month. (NOTE: A formal dwelling is defined as a structure of brick or concrete or asbestos materials).

Foster Child Grant:

This grant is for children who have been placed into the care of a person who is not their parent. If the child receives an income from any other source that is more than twice the yearly amount of a Foster-child grant, the child does not qualify. Value: R460 per month.

Grant-in-aid:

This is an extra amount that you can apply for if you already receive a grant, but need full-time care from someone else. Value: R130 per month.

Social Relief:

Social relief is available mainly for destitute people in need of temporary support, such as those waiting for approval of a social welfare grant. The money is intended to help them during the crisis period, and is only available for up to three months. You qualify for this relief if: (1) You have applied for a grant but it has not yet been processed. Once the grant is paid, the social relief money is subtracted from the grant. (2) You are too sick to work, but have medical proof that you will get better within six months. (3) You are a single parent trying to get maintenance from the other parent of your child, but have not been able to do so yet. (4) You are a single parent whose partner has died and left nothing for the family to live on. (5) You are a parent whose partner is the breadwinner and is awaiting trial or in a government institution, such as a hospital or jail. (6) You have experienced a natural disaster, such as a flood, but not if the whole area has been affected and other emergency funds are available for the area.

Transport Relief:

There is a special form of relief for transport money for people who: (1) Have been told by their doctor or clinic that they need special medical treatment but cannot afford to get to the place of treatment, or (2) have been promised a job but don't have money to get to the place of employment. This money is made available only once.

WHAT YOU NEED TO APPLY FOR A GRANT

When applying for any State grant at a Welfare office, always take with you your South African bar-coded Identity Document (ID) and proof of income and assets. Depending on the type of grant you apply for, there are other documents you need to take with you. These may be: your marriage certificate, a death certificate if your husband or wife has died, a medical certificate if you are disabled, or the child's computerised 13-number birth certificate or Identity Document for foster child grants.

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