Social Relief of Distress SASSA SRD Grant Raise to R624

Social Relief of Distress SASSA SRD Grant Raise to R624

The means test for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant was increased to R624 a month on Tuesday by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

This implies that no one will be eligible for the SASSA SRD grant if their monthly income exceeds R624, which is the threshold for food insecurity.

With the introduction of the R350 qualifying income threshold on April 1, a significant number of applications were turned down.

On Tuesday, the updated regulations were published.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic’s beginning in May 2020, the SASSA SRD grant has been operational sporadically.

Initially, 10.5 million persons in total who had an annual income of less than R624 were eligible for the award.

Less than 50% of applications were accepted when the means test was abolished on 1 April, resulting in 5.2 million persons qualifying.

Zulu said a month ago that she wanted to loosen the requirements in response to criticism from advocacy and civil society groups that support the underprivileged.

The grant’s administrator, SA Social Security Agency of SA (SASSA), also removed an onerous requirement that demanded bank pre-qualification and verified income flows into bank accounts.

SASSA R350 Payment Dates for April 2026