Can I be paid my UIF and SASSA pension while also getting money from my old job?

The long answer

The UIF and SASSA are two different kinds of things: the old age pension paid by SASSA is a social assistance benefit, which is distinct from social insurance schemes like UIF, COIDA (The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act) and provident or pension funds.

If you left the company where you worked for ten years voluntarily, you would not be able to claim UIF. UIF is only paid when you are unemployed because you were retrenched, dismissed or your employer died.

HRTorQue in an article on the UIF Act and retirement summarises when you can claim UIF:

• Your contract of employment has been terminated;

• Your fixed term contract has ended and not been renewed;

• You’ve been dismissed (or fired) from your job, as defined by section 186 of the Labour Relations Act 1995;

• You or your employer has been declared insolvent, in terms of the Insolvency Act, 1936;

• Your contract of employment has been terminated by the death of your employer.

In addition, you are registered as a work-seeker with a Labour Centre and you are capable of and available for work.

These are the benefits a person can apply for from UIF:

• Unemployment benefits

• Illness benefits

• Maternity benefits

• Adoption benefits

• Dependants’ benefits

The article goes on to explain that there is a difference between being unemployed and being retired: 

“The purpose of UIF is to tide over workers who have (involuntarily) lost their job or income due to retrenchment, dismissal, illness or pregnancy. It is implied that these workers will attempt to get back into the job market. There are no benefits linked to age or retirement at all in the UIF Main Act. Unemployment benefits are strictly intended for employees who have involuntarily lost their employment.”

The article goes on to say that if you retire voluntarily, no UIF can be claimed, but that if you were required to leave your company when you reached a certain age but would prefer to keep working, you may be able to claim, although it is not straightforward. It would depend on the code reported by your employer when you left. (I will return to the codes used by UIF.) Your ex-employer would also need to claim UIF for you, and they would need to be in good standing with SARS and the Department of Labour for you to claim UIF.

The codes used by UIF:

Each month, employers are required to submit a declaration to the Department of Labour explaining the status of their employees. If an employee left the company, one of the following codes would be listed on the UI19 form: 

01: Active
02: Deceased (death benefits)
03: Retired
04: Dismissed
05: Contract Expired
06: Resigned
07: Constructively Dismissed
08: Employer’s Insolvency
09: Maternity / Adoption Leave
10: Illness Leave
11: Retrenched
12: Transfer to Another Branch
13: Absconded
14: Business Closed

HRTorQue goes on to explain that if the reason code is 03 – Retired – no unemployment benefits are available online. “However, if the employee believes that they are entitled to benefits, the employee is asked to visit the office with a completed UI2.11 form, signed by the employer, on which they have declared whether the contract was terminated by the employer or the employee. If the employee has terminated the contract, or has agreed to the termination of contract, there are no benefits due, only if the employer has stated that there was an involuntary benefit.”

Moving on to SASSA: 

SASSA is a social assistance benefit which is means-tested. This means that you cannot earn more than R86,280 annually if you are single and R172,560 if married.

Yvette Basson, Law Lecturer at the University of the Western Cape, writes in an article for SciELO:

“An applicant or recipient is thus permitted to have an income, as long as the income does not exceed these amounts. Any income received will cause the amount received from the social grant to be adjusted pro rata.” (Pro rata means proportionally or in proportion)

That means that the closer your income is to the R86,280 limit, the less you will receive from SASSA. Once your income is greater than R86,280, as far as SASSA is concerned, you are able to take care of yourself and do not need a social grant.

The Black Sash explains in their “Making Human Rights Real” booklet:

“Social insurance payments, however, are included as income in the means test. This could include, for example, monies obtained from the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the Road Accident Fund, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Fund as well as pensions and provident funds.”

So to sum up, if you did get UIF, as explained above, it would be counted as income by SASSA, and so the pension amount would be smaller. But if you were already receiving a SASSA grant, you would not qualify for UIF. And I do not know what the service payment refers to, but it would probably also count as income in the SASSA means test.

You could consult the Black Sash for further help and advice. These are their contact details:  

Email: help@blacksash.org.za

Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie