As part of protecting beneficiaries from the festive season rush, the South African Social Security (SASSA) will start its December payment cycle earlier than other months. The December payment of social grants will start from 28 November 2019, and this applies to beneficiaries who collect their money from ATM’s and stores. Beneficiaries who receive their payments in cash at SASSA paypoints will receive their December grants from 02 December on their specific days communicated during their last payment.

January social grants will be available from the 31st December 2019 due to the fact that 01 January 2020 is a public holiday.

“The early December payment should not be seen as a bonus or double payment as it is mainly intended for the convenience of beneficiaries. SASSA does not pay a bonus at all and beneficiaries are paid for twelve months only per year,” said Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi.

Beneficiaries are urged to protect their PINS and avoid giving strangers their ID numbers even if they claim to be coming from SASSA because the PIN is a beneficiary’s secret. They should not fall prey to scams distributed through WhatsApp, SMS and/or social media.

The public is urged to be vigilant around the festive season and double check misleading information sounding too good to be true. This is the time where most beneficiaries are targeted through a lot of scams that criminals are circulating with an effort to rob unsuspecting beneficiaries of their money.

SASSA offices, toll-free line and its social media pages are the only sources that will provide correct and accurate information.

Beneficiaries are advised to call SASSA toll free on 0800 60 10 11 if they doubt something or want to report anything.