About a month ago, SASSA identified through credit bureau checks almost 210,000 grant recipients who did not communicate a change in earnings.
SASSA said it was acting in terms of the Social Assistance Act, which requires beneficiaries to declare all sources of income when applying for a grant and to report any changes after the grant has been approved.
Individuals identified were once eligible for SASSA grants; however, they failed to inform the agency of changes to their employment status and/or income exceeding the threshold for grant recipients.
SASSA urges 210k grant recipients who earn above R65k threshold to 'come forward' and 'do the right thing'
South Africans earning above R65,000 per annum do not qualify for SASSA grant payments.
The agency said it's still reviewing beneficiaries suspected of having alternative sources of income.
The affected beneficiaries will not receive grant payments in June’s payment cycle, which started on Tuesday, 3 June. Individuals will have 30 days to visit their nearest SASSA office for a review.
Letsatsi explains that the 210,000 grant recipients earning additional income will be 'reconciled' in the coming weeks based on the number of people who come forward to clear up their standing with SASSA.
"We are going to reconcile the number in the next two to three weeks because we want to see who is committed to make an arrangement with the agency."
- Paseka Letsatsi, Head of Communications - SASSA
"We are still at a cordial stage and people must not be afraid to come forward. We have not escalated this situation, we are just engaging with them and asking them to come forward and do the right thing."
- Paseka Letsatsi, Head of Communications - SASSA
"We expect people to be honest and say, 'I'm now employed, can you kindly remove me from the system'... We want to advise the public that we work together with other government agencies; the Department of Home Affairs, credit bureaus, banks... We have systems that pick up that you are getting income, and people need to understand that it is illegal to attempt to cheat the system."
- Paseka Letsatsi, Head of Communications - SASSA
"We know that the public is bleeding and we need to make sure that each and every cent is used properly."
- Paseka Letsatsi, Head of Communications - SASSA
Letsatsi explains how this became an issue.
"When you make an application for a social grant, there is a section in the form which says when your condition changes, you are obliged to inform the organisation. In this instance, we say, when you change your contact details, you need to inform us. Secondly, if your condition changes and you get employed, you need to make sure to inform us so the necessary steps can be taken to remove you from the current system."
- Paseka Letsatsi, Head of Communications - SASSA
"... we have taken a step to enforce the regulation... when a person earns money over a particular threshold, they need to be removed from the current system..."
- Paseka Letsatsi, Head of Communications - SASSA
Should individuals not come forth once their grants have been suspended, the matter will be escalated, although, the process is not yet at the escalation phase.
Letsatsi urges individuals in this position to come forward so an arrangement and acknowledgement of debt with SASSA can be clarified and a 'plan can be worked out to pay back the money'.
"We don't want to escalate the situation... we have suspended the grant, we have not stopped it permanently. We have suspended it so we can have an engagement with them. If we have to escalate it, it will have to involve other government law enforcement agencies for investigations, but SASSA has not arrived at this stage yet. We have not escalated, so don't run away from us..."
- Paseka Letsatsi, Head of Communications - SASSA
The crackdown follows updated conditions introduced by the National Treasury for the management of social grants, including monthly income checks using banks and government databases.
SASSA urges grant recipients to disclose alternative sources of income and undeclared bank accounts.
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Updated: July 2025
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