This year, Christmas SASSA grants will fall foul to a longer-than-usual gap in the payment schedule. But the agency clarifies there is nothing it can do about it. And that these five-week gaps simply occur from time to time. As a result, more than 28-million beneficiaries of Christmas SASSA grants are being urged to save and spend their money wisely over the festive season.
If they do not, they run the risk of being left penniless for the first week in the New Year. Worse still, civil rights groups warn that many vulnerable citizens typically fall prey to loan sharks over this period, too. As they await the next round of government payouts, many will have to borrow money at high interest rates just to pay rent and buy groceries. This only perpetuates the cycle of debt and poverty …
CHRISTMAS SASSA GRANTS
First and foremost, the South African Social Security Agency will disburse December 2025 SASSA grants next week as scheduled. Older Person is paid on Tuesday 2 December, Disability and War Veterans on Wednesday 3 December and Childcare on Thursday 4 December 2025. That’s par for the course for usual Christmas SASSA grants.
However, it is the challenge of making that money last for five weeks – till the next scheduled SASSA payment date in January 2026 – that will prove tricky. And frankly, expecting the country’s poorest residents to make Christmas SASSA grants last an extra week, with all the additional spending demands of the festive season, is just plain unfair. Sadly, many face no other choice but to loan money from friends, family or dubious lenders as a result.
WHY FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH?
Nevertheless, it is the agency’s insistence that payments must be made on the week of the first Tuesday of each month that’s the real issue here. Christmas SASSA grants fall conveniently at the start of December. However, New Year grants are only disbursed on the week of 6 – 8 January 2026. That amounts to a 35-day gap.
The potential ramifications of this extended gap go well beyond mere inconvenience. Christmas SASSA grants represent a crucial economic stabiliser in under-served communities and rural areas. These funds circulate through townships, supporting small businesses and informal traders at a time when they need it most. Not to mention brining some joy to poor households.
NOT-SO-MERRY CHRISTMAS SASSA GRANTS
Addressing protestors in front of parliament last month, SASSA CEO Themba Matlou, clarified the agency’s position. “SASSA does not determine grant amounts, we merely distribute the money. These figures are based on legislative and policy frameworks, fiscal sustainability, and consultations between the Department of Social Development, National Treasury and other ministries,” he said.
However, he did explain that SASSA is in charge of distributing social welfare as it sees fit. Therefore, it decides who will be reviewed and who will not. Likewise, it chooses what are reasonable and unreasonable payment gaps for beneficiaries to survive. And for this year’s Christmas SASSA grants, exceptions could have, and should have, been made …
But what do you think? Should Older Person, Disabled and Childcare SASSA beneficiaries be expected to last five weeks over the festive season? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below …
