Malema calls for old-age grant to rise to R4,500
EFF leader Julius Malema has called for South Africa’s old-age grant to be increased to R4,500 a month, saying pensioners particularly grandmothers play a central role in supporting black families.
Malema was speaking on Saturday at the EFF’s provincial manifesto launch in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
He said an EFF government would not scrap social grants but would instead increase them.
“You paid taxes when you were working, that is your money. We will not take away your grants, instead we will double them. In fact, we want it to start from R4,500,” Malema said.
He argued that many pensioners use their grants to support not only themselves but also children and unemployed relatives.
“There’s no one here who can ever say grandmom never looked after me. They are all the products of grandmothers. That’s why the money must go to them because they look after our children. We must support them and fight for them, because fighting for them is fighting for black families. They are the heads of black families,” he said.
South Africa’s old-age grant currently stands at R2,400 a month following an R80 increase implemented in April 2026. Beneficiaries older than 75 receive R2,420, according to the government’s official old-age pension information.
The government has allocated R292.8 billion for social grants in the 2026/27 financial year, with grants supporting about 26.5 million beneficiaries.
Malema said the state could afford higher grants if public funds were not wasted or misappropriated. He also criticised the ANC over poverty and corruption and called for greater support for unemployed young people.
The EFF has previously campaigned for significant increases in social grants. In its 2024 election manifesto, the party proposed increasing the old-age grant from R2,090 to R4,180 a month and said it would double other major grants.
The latest R4,500 proposal would therefore represent a further increase on the EFF’s previous commitment.
