In October 2023, the first wave of the Old Age Grant for seniors in South Africa was met by a series of unfortunate events, and thus, many of them have been able to claim their Old Age Grant. Where the money used to be there waiting in their bank accounts, now the pensioners report to have delays, to receive only partial payments, or even no payments at all. A few of them have gone to ATMs or been at the points of payment and only found their balances to be zero.
For those living in rural areas and far from the city where the bank facilities are limited, the situation is worse. The grant is the only source of income for these senior citizens, which they use to buy food, pay bills, and take care of their other basic needs.
The Types of Payment-Failures Occurring
Pensioners are being subjected to varied and widespread errors. Some have received a lesser amount than their full one, some had no payment at all, others suffered from banking rejections or got mismatches in systems. Reports point to trouble particularly with Postbank, where transfers are failing or cards are being denied. In several cases even when payment is shown to have gone through, the ATM will not release cash. This type of technical failure leaves a significant number of old recipients in a precarious situation — without the means to buy the daily necessities or to seek medical help.
How the Old Age Grant Operates and who the Beneficiaries are
The Old Age Grant Programme is a government welfare scheme that provides financial assistance to older people who are not able to live off other sources of income. To be eligible, the applicants must be:
- South African citizens or permanent residents
- A minimum age of 60 years
- Annual income does not exceed a certain limit (e.g. R86,280 for single applicants)
The Places Most Affected
According to reports, up to 25-30% of the pensioners in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal, mostly those who depend on Postbank, ATMs, or SASSA pay cards, have problems receiving payments. Fewer cases are noted in the more urban provinces like Gauteng and Western Cape, probably because many beneficiaries operate with banks that provide traditional accounts with more dependable systems.
This contrast in the usage of the banking system illustrates very well the hardships that service failures bring to the elderly people living in remote or underserved areas.
The Various Reasons for the Delays and System Errors
The crisis is mainly due to various systemic failures:
- Postbank experiencing technical difficulties in their systems due to updates made
- Discrepancies existing between SASSA’s payment records and those of the banks or pay points
- Problems with the identity, fingerprint, or ID verification matching process
- Lack of communication among the parties — many pensioners report that they were not informed about when or why the payments failed
SASSA has accepted responsibility for the problem and promised to investigate. They will be collaborating with Postbank and other banks to clear the backlogs and correct the mismatches. They will also be providing mobile cash vans to the areas impacted and introducing improvements in systems for ID validation and verification.
Steps for Pensioners to Take Immediately
If you do not receive your pension payment or if it is not correct this month:
- Look at your bank account or SASSA card to find out the amount (if any) that was credited
- Go to your nearest SASSA office or Post Office with your ID and grant documents
- Call SASSA’s national hotline: 0800 60 10 11
- If possible, take along evidence of the expected grant amounts and your ID number.
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