The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has provided an update on its ongoing social grant review process, aimed at strengthening the effectiveness, reliability and integrity of South Africa’s social assistance system.

Kempton Express reports that, at the beginning of the 2025/2026 financial year, Sassa introduced a range of measures to improve compliance with social assistance regulations and ensure that grants are paid only to eligible beneficiaries. The review process also seeks to prevent wasteful expenditure at a time when government finances remain under pressure.

According to Sassa, the review programme is closely monitored by National Treasury, which has set specific conditions to support the accelerated implementation of reviews. These conditions include income verification, biometric checks, inter-agency data cross-referencing and quarterly reporting.

Measures to improve efficiency and prevent fraud

Sassa said these measures are intended to enhance service delivery, improve operational efficiency and safeguard the social grant system against fraud and misuse of public funds.

The agency has thanked beneficiaries who have co-operated with the process and presented themselves for grant reviews.

Legally, the review process is guided by Regulation 30 and Section 14(5) of the Social Assistance Act, 2004, which requires Sassa to regularly review grants to confirm continued eligibility. Beneficiaries are also legally obliged to report any material changes in their circumstances, including income, marital status or employment.

Despite operational pressures, Sassa said it continues to strengthen risk-mitigation mechanisms and modernise the social grants system. This includes the rollout of compulsory biometric enrolment for all new grant applications, life certification for identified beneficiaries and targeted reviews of specific beneficiary groups.

Self-service platforms and review progress

To ease pressure on local offices, Sassa has introduced a self-service portal, allowing beneficiaries to complete life certification remotely through the e-Life Certification system. The agency plans to progressively expand review services on self-service platforms to improve accessibility and convenience.

For the current financial year, Sassa planned to conduct 420 000 grant reviews. By the third quarter, just under 400 000 beneficiaries had been notified to come forward for review. To date, approximately 240 000 grants have been reviewed, with about 70 000 suspended due to failure to comply with the review process.

Data matching with other institutions

Sassa has strengthened partnerships with credit bureaus, banks, SARS, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and other government entities to improve income verification and means testing.

Through data matching with credit bureaus, Sassa can identify discrepancies where beneficiaries declare unemployment or no income but later disclose employment to financial institutions when applying for loans or credit.

In collaboration with SARS, nearly 495 296 clients were identified through income verification processes as potentially ineligible for grants. Verification has commenced, and most affected beneficiaries have been notified to present themselves for review.

Data matching with NSFAS and other institutions has also identified beneficiaries with alternative income sources, irregular grant access patterns or incarceration status. During the third quarter, 25 377 beneficiaries were issued notification letters to present themselves for review.

Sassa also identified 291 581 people across various government payroll systems who may not qualify for social grants and is engaging these beneficiaries to undergo review.

Beneficiary responsibilities and consequences

Sassa has reminded beneficiaries that failure to comply with grant reviews or life certification may result in grant suspension, with continued non-compliance potentially leading to grants lapsing.

The agency has also noted challenges with outdated beneficiary contact details, which may prevent notifications from being received. To address this, a fourth payment date has been introduced in the payment cycle to prompt beneficiaries to contact Sassa if payment is not received during the first three days.

Financial savings and commitment to beneficiaries

Sassa said the review process has resulted in savings of approximately R44m per month, equating to around R0.5b annually. These savings help ensure that public funds are directed to those who need them most.

The agency emphasised that grants are not cancelled based solely on data checks. Beneficiaries are notified when they are under review, and grants are only suspended or lapsed if beneficiaries fail to comply within the legislated timeframes.

Sassa reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of all beneficiaries and ensuring that no qualifying individual is unfairly disadvantaged. The agency has also increased capacity at local offices to manage the expected influx of beneficiaries presenting themselves for reviews.

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