Early grant payments

THE SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) says it will pay social grant beneficiaries their grants for December from today.

The early payment of the December grant should, however, not be seen as a bonus.

Sassa said contrary to rumours on social media, beneficiaries who collected their December grants between today and the end of December would only receive their next payment at start of January.

“This is being done to cushion the beneficiaries from the December rush, which results in long queues in supermarkets and at ATMs. Beneficiaries who receive their money from cash vans and community halls in cash will be paid from December 3, according to payment schedules communicated to the different communities. Cash payments are done on different days at different paypoints – on a staggered basis – throughout the month,” Sassa said.

Money would not be deposited into the old Sassa cards from January, and beneficiaries using the old white Sassa card should obtain the new gold card from Sassa or post offices. “Any beneficiary who does not obtain the new Sassa card before December 15 2018 won’t be paid in January. This is the final call that Sassa is making, and the deadline won’t be extended,” the agency said.

Sassa also called on beneficiaries not to give their ID or PIN numbers to strangers, even if they claimed to be from Sassa. Call Sassa, toll free, on 0800 60 10 11 to report suspicious behaviour. |