Social security
Health insurance, unemployment, and pension
Social Security is paid by employers and offered as a free service in South Africa. Everyone should have their own social security number, and it is one of the first things foreigners need to get. However, not everyone can apply for certain benefits.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) was created on 2005 to assure a more professional payment of social benefits. The rate of contribution employers pay is calculated according to the industry they work in. It includes health care, unemployment, and pensions.
In order to get a Social Security Card in South Africa you need to fill in an application for a Social Security card (Form SS-5). Send or bring it to your local Social Security office with originals or certified copies of documents proving your immigration status, age, and identity. Everyone is entitled to have their own card.
Anyone can apply for unemployment benefit, except those who work less than 24 hours a month, learners, foreigners working on contracts, those who get old age pension, and those who only earn commissions.
Everybody is entitled to sickness benefits.
Domestic workers, members of the National Defence Force, or the police are not entitled to disability benefits.
Also in this section
- Introduction: The South African job market
- Finding a job: How to find a job in South Africa
- Job applications: How to apply for a job in South Africa
- Contracts: South African work contracts
- Working culture: Hours, holidays and working life in South Africa
- Tax number: How to register as a tax payer in South Africa
- Social security: Health insurance, unemployment, and pension