Sassa grants will be paid out this week, but some may be left out

While the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) older persons’ grant is set to be paid out on Tuesday, some may not receive their funds.

The agency on 30 April announced a slight delay in the May payment schedule due to the verification campaign to tighten the integrity of the country’s social grant system.

Speaking to The Citizen on Monday, Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi said that the delay in payments will not affect all grant beneficiaries.

“The verification process is an ongoing process. For now, we want to appeal to our beneficiaries not to panic,” he said.

Grant payment dates for May

• Older Persons Grant – Tuesday, 6 May 2025
• Disability Grant – Wednesday, 7 May 2025
• Children’s Grants – Thursday, 8 May 2025

Letsatsi assured that social grant payments would continue as scheduled with a slight delay for targeted beneficiaries.

“The targeted beneficiaries are those who use alternative forms of identification other than the standard 13-digit South African identity number to receive their social grants,” he explained.

Beneficiaries are urged to present themselves in person to have their ID numbers reviewed and properly recorded.

“Once these clients have presented themselves at various Sassa offices, a review will be done and then their 13-digit ID numbers will be captured in the system,” Sassa stated.

The agency warned that beneficiaries who fail to respond to the verification call may face grant suspension. Prolonged non-compliance could result in the complete lapsing of their grants.

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Crackdown on fraud

In addition to ID verification, Sassa is targeting recipients flagged through its bulk means test process.

These are individuals suspected of having undisclosed income flowing into bank accounts that were not reported during the application process.

“Social grants are subject to reviews at any time when there are reasons to believe that the beneficiary’s circumstances have changed,” the agency reminded recipients.

Letsatsi said the agency is intensifying its vetting measures in the 2025/2026 financial year.

“We will regularly identify clients on a monthly basis so that they come to our offices to verify their personal details,” he concluded.

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