Disabled man, now pensioner’s struggle
Man whose leg was amputated struggles to get a pension grant.
Loun Johan Hess, 60, who went through a rough patch the past few years, now battles to get an Older Person’s Grant – also known as a state old-age pension.
Hess, who turned 60 on 5 January worked as a diesel mechanic until 2014. First his toe was amputated, then his leg. In 2015, he received a once-off pension payout from his employer.
His wife, Annatjie Hess, 51, who is a nurse, said, “With that money we paid all our debt, our car, medical bills and money we owed people”.
With her being the only breadwinner and Loun unable to work, the couple hoped the South Africa Social Security Agency (Sassa) would come to their rescue as he was at pension age. So far they had no success.
Her salary barely covers the rent, with very little left.
The last time they visited Sassa was Wednesday, 18 January but to their disappointment, despite having documents such as Hess’ bank statements as well as other documents including her payslip, the couple was told they (Sassa) needed all the slips and receipts from 2015 as proof of what they did with the pension he received that year.
The couple failed to understand why Sassa required the documentation and decided to tell their story to the Herald.
Just to get food on our table is a struggle. My husband’s ‘healthy’ leg is taking all the strain. The colour of what is left of his other leg worries us,” she said.
Annatjie added it was impossible for her provide all the documentation as they had paid some of the money to friends and family they had borrowed from. The Sassa employee said the Agency would probably not accept their explanation.
On the same Wednesday day of hearing the Hess’ story the Herald tried to reach the Sassa office in Randfontein for comment but could not leave a message as according to a Sassa voice message their voicemail was overloaded.
According to the official Sassa site, however, requirements to get a pension grant from Sassa are the following :
Grants for Older Persons
The applicant:
• Must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee and must be a resident in South Africa
• Must be 60 years old and the spouse must comply with the means test
• Must not be maintained or cared for in a State institution
• Must not be in receipt of another social grant for him or herself
• Must submit a 13-digit bar-coded Identity Document
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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