Old age grant and disability cover increases

The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare last week announced that the old age and disability grants have been increased by N$50 as from 1 April 2012.
This increase will come into effect during the August 2012 payment cycle. Beneficiaries of the mentioned grants can expect a back pay of N$200, calculated as for the months of April, May, June and July which will be added to the N$550 that will be paid on the usual date in August.
The Ministry said in a statement “The budget was released in July and due to the fact that changes on the social welfare systems is processed one month in advance; the increase will only be effective in August. A total of 147236 old age pensioners and 27055 beneficiaries living with disability, will receive the increased payouts. This will give a grand total of 169291 beneficiaries.
N$2.5 billion was allocated to social grants in the 2012/2013 budget, this includes over N$1 billion for social pensions and N$360 million for maintenance grants and foster parent allowances.