Short payment on pay day? What to check if money is being deducted from your SASSA grant

Reports of unexplained deductions from social grants kept coming through September and October 2026. The Witness reported on 4 September that thousands of beneficiaries were allegedly signed up for products they believed would bring food or supermarket vouchers. Many found out only when less money than expected landed in their accounts. SASSA said thousands have since gone to its offices to change their banking details.

What has SASSA said about the deductions?

Chief executive Themba Matlou told the paper that bogus financial institutions are increasingly targeting pensioners and other beneficiaries. He said SASSA's systems do not let its officials make these deductions, that the agency does not work directly with funeral schemes or insurers, and that it cannot deduct from a grant without consent. Where the law does allow a funeral deduction, SASSA said it uses a controlled process with biometric enrolment and consent. Some beneficiaries told the Witness that the people who signed them up claimed to be linked to SASSA.

What are beneficiaries actually reporting?

A GroundUp story, republished by News24 on 22 September, followed a visit by the Social Development Minister and Matlou to the Delft office in Cape Town. One pensioner said an Emerald Life funeral policy had been taken off her grant since March, although she already has burial cover through her church. She had been to the office four times. Others at Delft complained about Clientele Life deductions, and Clientele Life asked those affected to send their details so it could investigate. Emerald Life had not responded when the story was published.

On 1 October the Witness quoted a Pietermaritzburg ward councillor who said elderly residents had come to him about deductions for policies they did not recognise and, in some cases, airtime.

What can you do if your payment is short?

Nothing here is a formal procedure; it is what the reports and SASSA's own comments point to. First, read your bank or SASSA card statement and write down who took money and on which dates. Then ask that company for the form you supposedly signed, since several pensioners say they signed nothing. Take the statement to your local SASSA office, or phone the free line on 0800 60 10 11, and ask for help stopping the debit order.

Going forward, keep your ID number, fingerprints and banking details to yourself when someone turns up with food parcels, vouchers or a "grant loan".

One missed R300 can leave a household short before the next pay day, and that is when people reach for a loan. If you do, check that the lender is registered with the NCR. Each profile in our lender directory lists the registration number.