A grant can stop for many legal reasons.

OLDER PERSON’S AND WAR VETERAN’S GRANT

This grant stops:

• The last day of the month when the beneficiary dies
• If you do not provide proof that you are alive when asked; about once a year your pension will be reviewed to check that you are still alive
• If it is not collected for 3 consecutive months; you can apply to have the grant payments start again but if it is more than 90 days later, you must apply for a new grant
• If you are admitted to a wholly funded government institution, for example, a jail or government hospital
• If you are absent from the country without notice for a continuous period that is longer than 90 days
• If your income and/or assets improve so much that you no longer qualify for the grant in terms of the means test

If you die, the person who holds the receipt for funeral expenses can claim your pension up to the end of the month in which you die, providing that pension was not already paid during that month. They can use this money to help with the funeral and other expenses. After the person claims, this money takes about 3 months to come.

DISABILITY GRANT

This grant stops for all the same reasons as the Older Person’s Grant, plus:

• A temporary Disability Grant will not continue for more than six months or a year, depending on how long it was originally awarded for; after this, it will lapse and you will have to reapply
• If it is a permanent Disability Grant, you will have to undergo another medical assessment after 5 years of the date of the application. But SASSA can ask permanent disability grant holders to provide proof every year that they are still alive
• If a refugee receives a disability grant, if their refugee status lapses then the disability grant will no longer be awarded

The law also says the SASSA officer can review the disability grant –

• Every year where there is documentary proof that your financial circumstances have or may change, or
• More regularly where there is documentary proof that your medical circumstances may change

A Disability Grant will be converted to an Older Person’s Grant when a beneficiary turns 60 years old.

GRANT-IN-AID

This grant stops for all the same reasons as the above, and if the main grant is withdrawn.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A GRANT IS WRONGLY STOPPED?

There are times when a grant is wrongly stopped. If this happens, you should send a letter to the same office where you made the application. The letter should give:

• All details of the application
• Date of last payment
• Details of payments missed
• Any reasons you know of why the correct payments were not made
• Request for the money

Keep a copy of the letter and proof that the letter was sent, for example, a registered mail slip.

STOPPING A GRANT ON GROUNDS OF FRAUD

A grant will be stopped if it is found that you provided information to SASSA that is known to be untrue to get the grant in the first place. It will also be stopped if it is discovered that you failed to inform SASSA of changes in your circumstances (for example, you start earning a big salary or you are no longer disabled) which would disqualify you from receiving the grant. Providing misleading information constitutes fraud and SASSA can claim any money that has been overpaid back from you. SASSA will send 90 days written notice of their intention to investigate.

The beneficiary can respond to provide the necessary information within a further 90 days. If they do not do so, or if it is not acceptable to SASSA, then the beneficiary will be given 90 days’ notice of SASSA’s intention to suspend the grant. No notice of a suspension needs to be given if the grant was approved based on fraudulent information, or was approved in error.

SASSA Fraud Hotline is Tel: 0800 601011 or Fax: 0800611011