SASSA beneficiaries have renewed calls for the agency to shift grant payment dates back to the start of each month, with commenters arguing the current system leaves pensioners short-changed for longer than necessary.
In response to a The South African article, Nola Van Loggerenberg raised the payment date issue head-on, comparing the current system unfavourably with pre-pandemic practice.
“At least the pensioners don’t have to wait 33 days next month for SASSA to pay out. The date should be moved back to the first of every month as it was before COVID,” she wrote.
Money doesn’t stretch far enough
Beyond the date itself, beneficiaries say the money doesn’t last once it hits their accounts. Mary Coetzee summed up the financial squeeze many pensioners face in stark terms: “Yes, that money lasts just one day.” Caroline September agreed the strain begins immediately, adding “Not just one day..up..the moment you take it out”, suggesting that for many, the grant is spent before it even reaches their pockets properly.
Caregiver and disability grant frustrations surface
The thread also surfaced deeper concerns about how SASSA assesses grant applications. Daisy Moodley shared her own experience applying for a caregiver-related grant, describing what she felt was an unreasonable expectation from officials. “OMW, they don’t give the caregiver money, apparently they want to see you in a wheelchair, my doc said yesterday. I went to fill the form saying I look so fit, 76, yet I cannot walk without someone holding me, I have a misbalance, got pins and needles in my knee,” she wrote, a comment that drew sympathetic reactions from other users.
Meanwhile, Machiliza Nomthandazoe raised a separate practical concern, asking for guidance on updating banking details on behalf of an elderly relative: “Plz help what do they need at Sassa my granny want to change her banking details.”
Together, the comments paint a picture of beneficiaries juggling delayed payments, insufficient amounts, and confusing administrative processes, all while trying to make ends meet on a fixed monthly income.
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