SASSA old-age pensioner reviews, Digi Mart USA News: Alida, an old-age pensioner on a SASSA grant and a regular reader of The South African, has spoken out about grant reviews after commenting on a story about the issue this week. Her comment was angry and heartfelt, and it reflects the sense of injustice many old-age pensioners feel when they come under review.
“We old people are not the skelms. It is the government employees who are the ones with all the corruption in their bones,” she wrote.
Alida says her husband is also under review and that they have been told to wait until the fourth payment date in the cycle for their money. “What must people eat?
How do they pay their bills if they don’t receive their SASSA?” she asks.
Even when a pensioner is alerted in time, reaching a SASSA office can be a serious obstacle. Alida said it is heartbreaking for older people and difficult to get to an office for a review.
“With what must we pay somebody to take them there? It’s 25 kilometres for me.
Does the agency think old people must go on foot?”
October 2026 brought no top-up from the South African Social Security Agency for the first time in two years. The Older Person’s Grant therefore remains R2 400 for those aged 60 to 74 and R2 420 for those 75 and over.
For context, the minimum wage in South Africa is R30.23 an hour, which works out to about R5 240 a month for a 40-hour week.
The medium-term budget policy statement on 21 October made things harder, not easier, according to the article. Instead of a clear road map for increases, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s speech counted R13 billion as a savings goal from “reduced fraud in social grants.” More reviews and tighter biometric verification are part of the plan.
The agency confirmed that between April and June 2026, SASSA put 105 600 beneficiaries under review. Of these, it suspended 56 807 grants, about 54%.
SASSA says it does not cancel grants “abruptly.” The Auditor-General also found R1.33 billion in payments to ineligible beneficiaries in 2025/26. This included R266.8 million to government employees and R211 million to deceased persons.
Alida’s suspicion about corruption within government therefore has some basis in the record. However, about R1.28 billion went to legally eligible foreign nationals last year, not “illegals.”
The agency maintains that reviews are there to protect the system. For Alida, they are one more obstacle between her and a peaceful retirement.
“Please stop the reviews. Stop the nonsense.
Give us our SASSA on time. Even minimum wage would help.
Every worker must get minimum wage, and we old people must be okay with R2 400,” she concluded.
Pensioners who suspect a one-off deposit, such as a family gift or stokvel payout, has triggered a review are advised to contact SASSA immediately to rectify it. The article notes the helpline number 0800 601 011 should be called before travelling to an office.
If needed, a family member, neighbour or ward councillor may help arrange transport to a SASSA office.
