Gauteng Pensioner Reveals How Her R2,400 SASSA Grant Runs Out Before Month-End
- Loraine Karam, a Gauteng pensioner who owns her home outright, says her R2,400 SASSA grant is never enough to last the month
- Rising food prices top her list of concerns, even as she carefully manages a budget with only one other household member
- Karam is calling for the grant amount to be increased, and has raised concerns about how the Child Support Grant is being used
PAY ATTENTION: Mark Briefly News as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
Source: Getty Images
Loraine Karam owns her home. She has no bond to pay off and only one other person in her household. On paper, she looks like someone who should be managing. In reality, her R2,400 SASSA Older Person’s Grant runs dry before the next payment ever arrives.
The Gauteng retiree has been receiving the grant for between three and five years, paid reliably into her Postbank account each month. But reliable does not mean sufficient. Karam says the cycle repeats without fail: money comes in, money runs out, and she waits.
Owning a home does not equal financial safety
A paid-off house is often seen as the foundation of financial security in retirement. Karam’s experience challenges that assumption. Rates, maintenance and everyday living costs continue to chip away at an income that was never calibrated for today’s prices. Food costs worry her most.
PAY ATTENTION: You can now search for all your favourite news and topics on Briefly News.
In a report by The South African, she noted that no one in her household went without food in the past month, but she was clear that this was the result of careful rationing, not comfort.
Her message to the government is straightforward: the grant needs to go up. She also spoke out against the SASSA Child Support Grant, saying she believes it is being abused and should be reconsidered. Her frustration reflects a tension felt by many grant recipients over how the welfare system distributes its limited funds.
Source: Facebook
A grant that has not kept pace with the cost of living
Karam rated SASSA’s communication with recipients as very poor. She is far from alone in that view. According to the report published on 3 September 2026, roughly 18 million South Africans rely on social grants, many of whom share similar frustrations about the gap between what they receive and what they actually need.
With South Africa’s unemployment rate above 32%, grants like the Older Person’s Grant are often the sole source of income for entire households. For Karam, homeownership has offered shelter but no shield against the relentless rise in the cost of living.
More story about SASSA pensioners
- Makro currently offers the lowest chicken price among major national retailers, selling a 5kg IQF bag for R198.95.
- Dobsonville Mall surprised elderly residents collecting their SASSA grants with snack packs on 2 September 2026.
- Members of NOAH’s Athlone Knitwits brought blankets to pensioners waiting in the cold outside a SASSA office in Cape Town.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
Source: Briefly News
