SASSA to spend R290-billion on social grants this year

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is set to allocate nearly R290-billion on social grants this financial year, according to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's announcement. Twenty years ago, when SASSA first began operations, the government spent R57-billion on social grants, which is roughly R156-billion in today's purchasing power. Adjusted for inflation, spending on social grants has grown by about 86% between 2006/07 and 2026/27.

Despite this significant increase in nominal terms, social grants have consistently accounted for 11.2% of total government spending since 2006. In 2006/07, social grants comprised 2.8% of GDP, whereas in 2025/26, they represented 3.6% of GDP. Over the past two decades, the number of people receiving grants has doubled, from 12-million in 2006/07 to approximately 26.2-million in 2026/27. Currently, one-quarter of South Africans receive a grant, up from 40% a quarter of a century ago.

The fastest period of growth in grant beneficiaries occurred between 2009 and 2012, when the child support grant was extended to older children. Additionally, the introduction of the Covid Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, valued at R370 per month, added an estimated 8-million people to the grant system. The SRD grant, originally intended for temporary assistance during the pandemic, has been extended multiple times, most recently until March 2028, potentially being replaced by a grant that also aids job opportunities.

However, government projections indicate a decline in the number of grant beneficiaries, excluding the SRD grant, to 17.1-million in 2029/30 due to tightened verification processes, saving R6.2-billion. Furthermore, during the first nine months of the current financial year, 300,000 fewer children received the child support grant than initially projected, as did the number of people receiving the SRD grant.

Consequently, the government will spend approximately R3-billion less on social grants this financial year than initially budgeted. Grant values have largely kept pace with inflation, as illustrated in a chart produced by The Outlier in collaboration with GroundUp.