Social grant beneficiaries rely on the timeliness of their payments to plan their monthly expenditure. The main grant categories in 2026 are consistent on fixed payment dates for permanent social grants and flexible dates for SRD grants. These are historically referred to as R350 things but have now become R370 per month. Knowing how these payments are scheduled and processed allow the recipients to manage things that are essential in their day-to-day life, such as food, transport, utilities, and education.
Scheduled payment of social grants in 2026 will be clear on a monthly basis. Older persons’ grants, which are given to the elderly South Africans aged 60 and above, will be on Tuesday, 6 January 2026 at the beginning of the month, and Tuesday, 3 February 2026 in February. Disability Grants, which support beneficiaries with permanent disabilities, will be on Wednesday, 7 January 2026 and Wednesday, 4 February 2026. Children’s Grants, including the Child Support Grant, Foster Child Grants, and Care Dependency Grant, were paid generally on Thursday, 8 January 2026 and Thursday, 5 February 2026. These fixed dates each week allow families to have the ability to budget for their recurring monthly costs.
SRD R370 Grant Payment Dates
The SRD grant, which once was christened the Covid-19 grant, introduces an exception to the long-standing tradition of permanent grants-this is to say that, if approved, it is due within the processing window at the end of the month, rather than being served on a common specified date. For January 2026, SRD R370 payments are scheduled between Tuesday, 27th January and Saturday 31st 2026. February will see a similar SRD payment arrangement later in the month once the processing and verification of applications are completed. The individual beneficiary will be expected to check his SRD status online to know when his own personal payment date will be confirmed as “approved and paid,” because every time an approval is confirmed; the date becomes variable.
Definition of the Amount R520
Sometime the figure of R520 is not a stand-alone good amount disbursed by SASSA on any specific date in 2026. Instead, the figure may be seen as the total of combined payments of different grants in the same month or added on the basis of retroactivity, arrears or top-ups. There are instances where the total payment is much more than any individual grant’s payment if the beneficiary engages with grants of more than one classification concurrently.
Follow Payment Dates Carefully
Given that SRD payment dates fly in all directions while permanent grants always observe a fixed schedule, SASSA wishes to recommend beneficiaries to check and track their status on its official SASSA portal, utilizing their South African ID number and registered mobile number to find out exactly on which date their funds shall be paid for each month.