Pretoria – More than 50,000 social grants have been suspended after National Treasury tightened verification requirements for the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), with thousands of beneficiaries found not to have complied with the review process.
According to News24, more than half of the 100,000 grants subjected to verification during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year were deemed non-compliant and suspended.
The latest action forms part of a wider government effort to strengthen grant verification and prevent fraud and payments to people who no longer qualify.
In its 2026 Budget, National Treasury said SASSA had upgraded its biometric and income-verification systems, resulting in nearly 35,000 grants being identified as incorrect or fraudulent and terminated. Treasury said the measures were expected to generate R3 billion in savings.
The Department of Social Development has previously said the review process includes income verification, biometric checks and cross-checking beneficiary information with other government and financial databases. SASSA has also warned that beneficiaries who fail to comply with reviews or life certification could have their grants suspended, The Citizen reported.
The government has stressed that the verification drive is intended to protect the grant system while ensuring legitimate beneficiaries continue receiving assistance.
Treasury said the process would “strengthen beneficiary authentication” and that SASSA would “intensify efforts to combat fraud and corruption, while ensuring that legitimate beneficiaries remain protected.”
South Africa has about 26.5 million social grant beneficiaries, with R292.8 billion allocated for social grants in the 2026/27 financial year.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
