The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has strongly warned grant beneficiaries against sharing their personal details with anyone claiming to be of the agency. This came after a suspected scam incident involving at least two people.
The incident became public after a recent video on social media platforms pertaining to the incident and allegations of officials’ involvement in the deduction of pensioners’ money by alleged financial service providers. It is understood that a political party released the video with claims of insurance deductions.
Themba Matlou, chief executive officer (CEO) of Sassa, said that in the video, two individuals alleged that they had been approached by individuals purporting to be from Clientèle Life Insurance and the IFA, who made promises of food vouchers and other benefits. They then gave their personal details to the said individuals. He said according to the report an undisclosed amount of money was deducted from the two persons’ accounts.
Matlou has distanced the state agency from these acts and refuted allegations of officials being involved, as the agency’s systems do not allow such practices. He has also pleaded with all social grant beneficiaries to not share their personal details with anyone claiming to be from Sassa or any other organisation.
“We advise our beneficiaries to be careful who they share their personal details with, especially their banking details,” he said.
Matlou emphasised that not even Sassa has the authority to make any deductions on social grants without the consent of the beneficiaries.
“Where funeral deductions are permissible by legislation, Sassa runs a very tightly controlled process that includes biometric enrolment and consent.”
Those clients who would like to dispute a deduction from their social grant for a funeral policy are advised to act immediately by sending an SMS to 34548 with their identity number and the financial services provider’s name.
If the deduction is not made by Sassa, but directly through a debit order from the client’s bank account (in other words, if they can see it on their bank statement), the client needs to engage their bank to dispute the debit order.
If they are not able to resolve the matter with the service provider who has actioned the debit order, the client can then approach the National Financial Ombudsman Scheme. Visit nfosa.co.za on how to lodge a complaint.
Grants increase on 1 April
Meanwhile, for 2026-’27, social grant increases are effective on 1 April as announced by Enoch Godongwana, minister of Finance, on tabling the national budget on 25 February:
■ The old age grant, disability grant and care dependency grant increase by R80, standing at R2 400.
■ The war veterans grant also increases by R80 to R2 420.
■ The foster care grant goes up to R1 290 in April, a R40 increase; and to R1 300 in October, a R10 increase.
■ The child support grant and grant-in-aid grant increase by R20 to R580.
