A pension form has made a public submission to the Parliamentary Finance Committee where they objected over the R80 pension increase announced by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.
The Pension Forum said it is supported by 30 000 people to object against the disturbing R80 increase on the pension grant which they said is even less than the R100 increase from 2018.
The Forum said this shows that National Treasury did not listen to the Finance Committee’s recommendations that pensions be substantially increased in the 2019/20 term.
“The R80 increase is seen as a terrible insult, which together with a R10 increase on the child support grant works to push even more grandchildren under the care of grandparents. Pensioners, who faced the brunt of apartheid brutality are still not seeing substantial material improvements”, said executive director of amandla.mobi Koketso Moeti.
The pensioners are trying to get government to reconsider the wholly inadequate R80 increase. The pensioners call for their state old-age grant (currently valued at R1 700 a month) to be increased to R2 500 a month, as a step towards equalizing with an increased National Minimum Wage and towards a proper living wage. The pensioners have also reiterated their call for a 13th cheque annually in December.
Four pensioners attended the public hearings to speak on behalf of the pensioners in South Africa. The campaign for a living wage old age pension and 13th cheque is a universal campaign which speaks to both the fears of workers and pensioners who find themselves living on poverty-level old-age grants.
