What beneficiaries must know about SASSA’s social grant review process

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) addressed some of the most frequently asked questions around the review process for social grants, stressing the importance of keeping personal and financial details updated to maintain eligibility.

A social grant review is “a process conducted by SASSA to update the information of the beneficiary on SASSA’s beneficiary database,” the agency explained.

The main goal is to verify that beneficiaries still meet the eligibility criteria for receiving social assistance and that personal details are up to date.

The agency clarified that grant recipients who did not declare their income when applying, or those who have experienced changes in financial circumstances, such as a change in marital status, must undergo a review.

“The beneficiary must report to their nearest SASSA office with the required document including personal information, such as marital status, residential address, and contact details, income and employment status,” the agency outlined.

SASSA emphasised the role of the review in fighting fraud and ensuring the right people benefit from the grants.

“This will help in ensuring that the agency pays social grants to people who qualify as well as prevent fraud.”

Reviews are conducted annually or when changes are suspected in a beneficiary’s situation. However, beneficiaries need not wait to be called.

“Beneficiaries also have the responsibility to present themselves for a review at any time as per the award letter or in an event where their personal details have changed,” SASSA said.

In terms of notification, SASSA says it uses official channels such as mail, SMS, home visits, hand delivered letters or public announcements.

Beneficiaries are advised not to ignore these messages, especially when “SASSA may withhold payment on one payment run to prompt beneficiaries to come for urgent review.”

Importantly, ignoring the review process has serious consequences.

“Failure to respond to or attend a scheduled grant review may result in the suspension or termination of the grant until the review has been completed,” the agency warned.

If a grant is terminated, any late return by the beneficiary will be treated as a new application, and no back payments will be issued.

SASSA says that “grants that lapse due to non-compliance with SASSA’s review requests may be referred to law enforcement, as they are presumed fraudulent.”

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