How to contact SASSA about a grant

The South African Social Security Agency administers and pays social grants. It is the body to contact about an application, a payment, a suspension or a review. The Department of Social Development sets grant policy but does not process individual grants, so a query sent there will be redirected.

This site is an independent directory. We cannot process, check or escalate a grant on your behalf. What follows is how to reach the people who can.

Have this ready first

Almost every query is resolved faster with these to hand:

• Your South African ID number
• The grant type concerned
• The reference number from your application, if you have one
• The date of your application or the last payment you received
• The name of the office where you applied

Which grant is which

SASSA administers seven permanent grants, plus social relief of distress:

• Older person’s grant
• Disability grant
• Child support grant
• Foster child grant
• Care dependency grant
• Grant-in-aid
• War veteran’s grant

Eligibility, means testing and review cycles differ between them, so state which one you are asking about at the outset.

Escalating a complaint

If SASSA has not resolved a matter, the route depends on what went wrong:

• For grant administration, the internal appeals process runs through the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals
• For maladministration or unreasonable delay by a state body, the Public Protector investigates and its remedial action is binding unless set aside by a court
• For a pension fund matter, which is a different thing entirely, the Pension Funds Adjudicator handles complaints against retirement funds

A grant is social assistance funded from tax revenue. A pension is a contributory fund benefit. They are administered by different institutions and the complaint routes do not overlap.

Avoiding the common trap

SASSA does not charge for an application, and no fee is required to speed one up. Anyone asking for payment to secure or expedite a grant is not acting for SASSA. Applications are free at every stage.