Govt to lower SAGE eligibility to 65, raise monthly pay to sh35,000

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The government on Thursday, November 20, 2025, announced an increase in the Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE) for older persons, raising the monthly payment from sh25,000 to sh35,000 and lowering the eligibility age from 80 to 65 years.

State Minister for the Elderly and the Disabled Dominic Gidudu Mafwabi, while addressing the media at the Uganda Media Centre, said the changes will take effect in the 2026/2027 financial year.

SAGE is a social protection programme by the Ugandan Government that provides a monthly cash transfer to eligible older persons to combat poverty.

“Government takes pride in the strides so far made in the available programs and recognises the impact created in the lives of beneficiaries. To consolidate the gains so far made and to enhance household incomes, government has made a decision to lower the eligibility age for the SAGE from the current 80 years to 65 years, effective next financial year 2026/2027,” Mafwabi said.

“To actualise this decision, government will provide an additional budget worth sh252,160,000,000 to the program in the next financial year,” he added.

The minister said this will be a top-up to the current budget of sh121.2b, bringing the total budget to sh373.3b, which is required to reach the 1,048,598 beneficiaries aged 65 years and above.

He added that the current number of SAGE beneficiaries above the age of 80 years is 306,759.

Find details in Friday's edition of New Vision.