SASSA suspends 70,000 social grants due to incomplete reviews
THE South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has announced that 70 000 grants were suspended due to beneficiaries' failure to complete the review process.
Image: Sassa
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) says 70 000 grants were suspended after beneficiaries failed to comply with the social grant review process.
SASSA CEO Themba Matlou gave an update on the social grant reviews process during a media briefing on Thursday.
SASSA said from the beginning of 2025/2026 financial year, it intensified its social grants reviews to determine the eligibility of targeted beneficiaries and whether they still qualify to receive social grants and if their current financial circumstances are still the same as when they qualified at the time of application.
Matlou said there is compulsory biometric checks for all new social grant applications and SASSA has introduced a self-service portal for beneficiaries to complete life certifications remotely.
A life certification, or proof of life, is a mandatory verification process for social grant beneficiaries—especially those over 75, centenarians, or in institutions—to confirm their status and prevent fraud.
Matlou added that SASSA planned to carry out 420 000 reviews and by the third quarter it had notified 400 000 beneficiaries to come forward for the review.
“To date 240 000 grants have been reviewed and 70 000 grants have been suspended due to failure to conduct the reviews.”
He said SASSA is also working with various departments and partner institutions and strengthened its relationship with the Credit Bureau in order to check beneficiaries' eligibility for grants.
He said data from the Credit Bureau assisted to determine the employment status of grant beneficiaries.
“For example a client may come to us and say they are unemployed or they don't have an income and sign an affidavit to that effect. And we approve the grant based on that affidavit but then they go to a financial institution to get a loan or acquire good or related services where they reveal that they employed in order to show that they can pay back the loan. This information is very important because it is recorded with the Credit Bureau which we are now able to access.”
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