Answer to a question from a reader

Can my mother get UIF and SASSA pensions at the same time?

The short answer

Yes, but that might not be in your mother's best interests.

The whole question

My recently-retired mother has applied for SASSA, and for her UIF (retirement). Can she get both at the same time?

The long answer

Thank you for your email asking if your mom can get UIF and the SASSA pension at the same time.

The SASSA old person’s grant is means-tested, which means her income will be assessed to see if she qualifies. Any payments from UIF will be taken as income and her SASSA grant will be reduced accordingly, or, depending on how much the UIF payments amount to, she may not qualify for the SASSA grant at all.

So it would probably be wiser to delay her SASSA application until she’s been paid out all her UIF benefits.

Answered on Jan. 27, 2020, 10:23 a.m.

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Please note. We are not lawyers or financial advisors. We do our best to make the answers accurate, but we cannot accept any legal liability if there are errors.