‘SASSA can check online’: South Africans tell agency to stop harassing pensioners

South Africans are demanding that SASSA rethink how it treats elderly grant recipients, with one commenter arguing that the agency already has the technology to verify pensioners without subjecting them to repeated reviews and life-certification processes.

Commenting on The South African’s article on the seven ways SASSA allegedly strips pensioners of their dignity, Kobus Steyn held nothing back. He also said SASSA must immediately stop harassing old age pensioners with the excuses of reviews and life certification, arguing that the processes exist to throw off as many old age pensioners as possible. His comment strikes at a long-running frustration among grant recipients who say verification steps add stress to an already difficult system.

Banks, SARS and Home Affairs already know

Steyn’s argument centres on data that SASSA supposedly already have access to. He pointed out that SASSA is linked to the banks and SARS, meaning the agency can electronically check which old-age pensioners are not eligible to receive a grant.

Additionally, he extended the same logic to Home Affairs, noting that SASSA is linked to the department and can verify whether a person is still alive, especially now that citizens are being pushed to obtain new smart IDs.

For Steyn, this makes manual life certification redundant.

The sentiment did not go unanswered. Albina Dias replied directly to Steyn’s comment, writing that it is terrible and horrible how pensioners are treated in South Africa, calling it a disgrace. Her response reflects a broader pattern in the comment section, where multiple readers echoed frustration at processes they view as bureaucratic obstacles rather than genuine safeguards.

Furthermore, the exchange adds to the mounting public pressure on SASSA to modernise its verification systems by leveraging existing government data-sharing infrastructure, rather than requiring elderly citizens to prove their eligibility repeatedly.

Whether the agency will act on these calls remains to be seen, but the comments suggest patience among grant recipients and their families is wearing thin.

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