The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has been increase and it is finally in effect. Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, announced that the SRD grant would be increased on 1 April 2024.
Commonly referred to as the R350 grant because of it’s value, SRD grant beneficiaries will begin receiving R370 from 1 April 2024. This means that the R350 grant is being increased by R20 or 5.7%.
The Minister announced the following:
The President in the State of the Nation Address said that the R350 is going to continue and the R350 will be improved. I’m pleased to say we have found consensus that in between, subject to the finalisation of the comprehensive social security, we’ll increase the R350 to R370 by the 1st of April this year.
The SRD grant is paid to approximately nine million people living in South Africa every month by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
During the 2024 budget speech, Godongwana revealed that work was underway to improve the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant by April 2024.The Minister indicated that these improvements will be within the current fiscal framework.
The grant is set to come to an end in March 2025. However, the Minister has said that there is a chance it could be extended until 2027:
For the extension of the grant beyond 2025, We have made the point that it may work, we have to find some revenue source for it.
The SRD grant received a budgetary allocation of R33.6 billion for the 2024 financial year. Provisional allocations were also made for the 2025 financial year and the 2026 financial year. This means that should the government see fit, the implementation of the grant would be extended until March 2027.
Sassa SRD Grant Payments
SRD grant payments are made during the final week of the month after Sassa completed various verification checks. These verification checks seek to ensure only deserving individuals receive SRD grant payments.
Sassa has made it clear that funds will take about 2 to 3 working days to reflect in the grantholder’s bank account after the Sassa SRD payment has been processed.
