South Africa - How To Apply for Older Persons Grant

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Procedure

Apply In-person

1. To apply for an Older Persons Grant in person, the applicant has to visit the nearest local office of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
2. Please click the following link for the contact details of the SASSA office in your province: Link
3. Visit the nearest office of SASSA and obtain the application form to apply for an Older Persons Grant, from the respective department.
4. Make sure that you have all the documents listed in the “Required documents” section of this page.
5. Complete the application in front of the SASSA officer who issues the application form at the premises of the SASSA office itself, with required and relevant information.
6. Now, submit the application with all the required documents to the SASSA official for further proceeding.
7. You will be provided with a stamped and dated receipt which bears the SASSA official’s name that assisted you, as a proof of the application submission. Please keep it safe.
8. After necessary verification and validation processes, if your application is approved, you will be issued with a formal notice and the grant which you applied for will be rewarded to you properly, from the date of the application.
9. If your application is refused and you are not satisfied with the reason stated, you can request the SASSA to revise its decision by the arrival of the outcome.
10. If the request is still not useful and the application had been declined again, the applicant can appeal to the Minister of Social Development, at the National office of the Department of Social Development.

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Required Documents

• Completely filled Application form
• Identity documents of Applicant and spouse
• Completed Affidavit (in case of absence of ID’s)
• Proof of relationship with spouse
• Affidavit or Proof in writing for the income and assets of the couple
• Supporting documents for above mentioned three proofs (as considered necessary)
• Document for dependent children’s income proof

NOTE: Affidavits required are offered by SASSA itself.

Office Locations & Contacts

South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) - Head Office
Physical Address:28 Harrison Street
Johannesburg
2000
South Africa
Postal Adsress:Private Bag X120
Marshalltown
2107
South Africa
Tel:012 312 7790/ 012 312 7591
Fax:012 323 3733
Email: [email protected]
Website link

Eligibility

• Any South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee, 60 years or older than that, living in South Africa can apply.
• Only people (applicant and spouse) who have a monthly income below a certain level can get the grant. A means test is conducted to verify this.
• The applicant must not be maintained or taken care in a prison, rehabilitation centre or state old age home and the applicant should not be receiving any other grant for themselves.

Fees

The entire service is free of cost.

Validity

Please refer “Suspension of grant” and “Main Reason for Lapsing of a grant” sections in the following document: Link

Documents to Use

Application forms are available at the office you visit.

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• If you are too old or sick to travel to the office to apply, a family member or friend can apply on your behalf. The person should take a letter from you and/or a doctor's note saying why you cannot visit the office.
• If you found struggles in filling the application form, the SASSA official should help you filling the form.
• A sworn statement or an affidavit, Divorce order, Marriage Certificate or spouse’s death certificate can be submitted as s proof for Spousal relationship status.
• A review will be conducted periodically by the SASSA, with a prior intimation to the applicant for verifying the applicant’s compliance with conditions that determines the continuation of the grant.
• If you fail to provide the necessary documentation during the review, your grant will be suspended.

Required Information

• Particulars of the applicant
• Particulars of the applicant’s spouse
• Identification document numbers
• Assets and income information
• Income information of dependent children

Need for the Document

The Older Person’s Grant also known as the state old-age pension is a monthly income for citizens, permanent residents, and refugees 60 years or older with no other means of financial income. This application process is essential for receiving the grant properly.

Information which might help

SASSA will pay the grant to you through one of the following methods:

• Cash at a specific pay point on a particular day.
• Electronic deposit into your bank or Post bank account (the bank may charge you for the service)
• Institutions (e.g. old age home)

Note: If you're unable to collect the money yourself, you can appoint a SASSA official, or give someone power of attorney to collect the grant on your behalf. Also, remember that normal bank charges can apply to any money going in and out of your bank account. You can decide to change the payment method at any time by filling in a form at a welfare office, but the change will only happen a month later.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

User manual: Link

Others

Call the toll-free helpline at 0800 601 011 for further information on:

• Pay-out dates
• Qualifying rules for all government grants
• District office addresses and contact numbers
• For help with what has happened to your application
• How you can also report any fraud or corruption