During the South African Social Security Agency's (Sassa) March 2023 payment schedule, many beneficiaries of social grants faced issues when they tried to collect their grant.
Sassa has urged beneficiaries to check when their gold cards expire as this may be the reason that they were not able to collect their money.
Beneficiaries with gold cards which expire in March 2023 must go and collect their new Sassa/Postbank cards at Post Office branches.
They may start collecting their new gold cards at the nearest Post Office branch from Monday 13 March 2023.
The Post Office will only issue the new gold card to the person in whose name the expiring card has been issued. Sassa has warned that no person will be able to collect a new gold card on behalf of another unless they have been registered with Sassa as a procurator.
When collecting their new gold card, beneficiaries must bring their South African Identity Document and the current Sassa/Postbank Gold Card that is expiring in March 2023 (03/2023).
New gold cards can be collected on the following dates:
- Mondays and Tuesdays, (starting from Monday 13 March 2023) will be dedicated to issuing cards to Old Age Grant beneficiaries and persons that receive Disability Grants.
- Wednesday to Saturday, (starting from Wednesday 15 March 2023), will be dedicated to issuing cards to those receiving Child Support Grants and persons receiving all other grants.
Sassa has noted that those with gold cards that expire later in the year do not have to be concerned as they will continue to receive their grant payments through those cards as they remain valid.
Grant recipients carrying cards that are not expiring during March are discouraged from making attempts to collect new cards at the Post Office during this month.
The Agency also noted that Postbank experienced a technical glitch during the March payment period, but they have said that the issue is resolved and beneficiaries who were unable to collect their grants can return to a payment point to get their money.
Sassa beneficiaries who are still experiencing issues with their March grant payments are urged to contact the Postbank customer on 0800 535 455.