MEDIA STATEMENT
SASSA REFUTES ALLEGATIONS OF INVOLVEMENT IN INSURANCE SCAMS 05 March 2026
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has noted a recent video on social media platforms released by a political party on the deduction of pensioner’s money by alleged financial service providers.
On the video, the two individuals allege that they were approached by individuals, purporting to be from Clientele Life insurance and IFA who made promises of food vouchers and other benefits and they gave their personal details to the said individuals. It is only after they gave out their personal details that money was deducted from their accounts. Allegations are also being made that SASSA officials are involved in this.
SASSA Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Themba Matlou, strongly distanced SASSA from these acts, refutes allegations of officials being involved in them as our systems do not allow such practice. The Agency’s name should not be associated with people not at employ or operating on behalf of SASSA.
He also issued an impassionate plea to all social grants beneficiaries not to share their personal details with anyone claiming to be from SASSA or any other organisation, to safeguard themselves from being scammed.
“We advise our beneficiaries to be careful who they share their personal details with, especially their banking details. We always conduct beneficiary education all our beneficiaries on the processes of SASSA and more importantly on how to protect personal information”, added Matlou.
Matlou has shared deep sympathy with those who have fallen victims of such scams and reiterated that SASSA does not associate itself with any individuals who are taking advantage of vulnerable members of society.
SASSA has consistently distanced itself from any insurance company that uses the good name of the Agency to achieve its goals. SASSA does not, at any point, work with funeral schemes and insurance companies directly.
Furthermore, CEO Matlou emphasised that even SASSA has no authority to make any deductions on social grants without the consent of the beneficiaries. Where funeral deductions are permissible by legislation, SASSA runs a very tightly controlled process which includes biometric enrollment and consent.
For those clients who have requested a deduction from their social grant for a funeral policy, and would like to dispute such, are advised to immediately dispute the deduction by sending an SMS to 34548 with their Identity number and the financial services provider’s name. If the deduction is not made by SASSA but directly through a debit order from the client’s bank account, in other words you can see it on your bank statement, the client needs to then engage their respective bank to dispute the debit order. If they are not able to resolve the matter with the Service Provider who has actioned the debit order, the client can then approach the National Financial Ombuds Scheme (https://nfosa.co.za/how-to-complain/).
The Agency has been working very hard over the last few months, introducing new initiatives to enhance the integrity of the social grant system to be at the optimum level that will ensure that vulnerable and eligible clients have access to social assistance.
Issued by the South African Social Security Agency
ENDS