Mapaballo Borotho

- SASSA has warned of an increase in unlawful deductions from social grants by insurance companies that beneficiaries never signed up for.
- The agency stressed it has no agreements with such companies and cannot deduct funds without consent.
- Victims are urged to report cases.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has raised an alarm over a rise in alleged unlawful deductions by financial service providers targeting social grant beneficiaries.
This follows multiple complaints from beneficiaries who discovered deductions made by various insurance companies they had never signed up for.
Many initially believed these companies were in partnership with SASSA.
In a statement on Thursday, SASSA firmly distanced itself from such practices, stressing that it has no agreements with insurance companies using its name for personal gain.
“SASSA has no authority to make deductions on social grants without the consent of beneficiaries. We have utmost respect for our beneficiaries, and we will never do anything to shortchange our clients. Your money is your money, and if you qualify for a social grant, SASSA will never tell you how to use it”.
SASSA urged affected beneficiaries to report any unlawful deductions to their nearest SASSA office.
The agency says funeral deductions are not permitted from child-related grants, and temporary disability grants are excluded from funeral deductions entirely.
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