Sassa confirms no double grant payments or new rules for June amid social media rumours
The South African Social Security Agency says there are no double grant payments in June.
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The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has dismissed rumours circulating on social media platforms that beneficiaries will receive double grant payments in June and that new rules for pensioners are set to come into effect next month.
SASSA said these fake reports have been causing panic among its more than 19 million beneficiaries. The agency emphasised that the only grant increases announced were those made in the Ministry of Finance’s Policy Statement in March and that the next official increase is scheduled for October.
“SASSA can make it categorically clear that there have been no announcements made for double grant payments in June. These reports are untrue and should be rejected with the contempt they deserve,” said Paseka Letsatsi, SASSA’s national spokesperson.
“We appeal to our beneficiaries not to expect any double payments in June as stated in various fake news reports, particularly on social media platforms,” Letsatsi added.
He said grant increases were announced and came into effect in April, and there will be another increase again in October. "Any other increase not announced by credible and relevant authorities should be treated as lies,” said Letsatsi.
SASSA is also dispelling another rumour claiming that “new rules” will affect pensioners from June 10. The agency confirmed no such changes have been announced, and the circulating information is not from any official source.
“Reports have been spreading like wildfire, that SASSA has announced ‘New Rules Could Affect Your Pension’ from 10 June. This is not an official announcement from SASSA,” Letsatsi said.
On April 30, SASSA did announce a verification process targeting specific beneficiaries for the May payment run. These include people using alternative forms of identification and those flagged during the bulk means test process for having undisclosed income.
SASSA urged beneficiaries to stay informed through official channels. “We appeal to our beneficiaries to only rely on credible sources of information on our official social media pages,” said Letsatsi.