The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) admitted to paying approximately R140 million in social grants to around 75,000 deceased individuals during the 2023/24 financial year.
This agency, which pays monthly grants to more than 18 million people, explained that payments to deceased individuals were made due to grant payment processing.
Sassa Chief Financial Officer Tsakeriwa Chauke explained that at the end of every month, Sassa prepares payment files for the next month. This ensures that grant beneficiaries receive payments during the first week of every new month.
However, beneficiaries may pass away between the generation of payment files and grant payment dates. This led to the grant payment of more than 75,000 deceased individuals in South Africa.
Some beneficiaries may pass away between when the payment file is generated and when the payment is made, and they are included in the payment run.
Sassa’s Brenton van Vrede explained that the agency's systems are synchronised with the Department of Home Affairs who records registered deaths in the country. However, the onus is on citizens to report the death and this may take some time.
Although we are fully synchronised with Home Affairs, we are still dependent on citizens reporting a death.
Van Vrede says while most deaths are recorded, some are missed. Deaths that are missed represent 0.02% of the total grant budget.
Sassa is developing a new system which enables bulk recalls of payments based on Department of Home Affairs records. This will allow for Sassa to recover grant money paid to deceased beneficiaries. The system will be tested in April 2025.
