The expenditure patterns of households receiving the State’s Old-Age Pension (SOAP) grant in Kwakwatsi Township.

Abstract

The study on which this article is based investigated the expenditure patterns of households receiving the state’s old-age pension grant. The old-age pension grant is the second-largest social grant in terms of the number of recipients and the largest when it comes to the monetary cost for the national government. The study looked at households in Kwakwatsi township receiving an old-age pension grant as the main source of income. The state’s old-age pension grant is used only for sustenance, and for buying basic household necessities. Food is the biggest household expenditure for pension grant recipients. The pension grant is also used to support additional family members, thereby reducing its distributional impact. Households spend the grant mainly on products that support the daily functioning of the household.