Rising Complaints About SASSA Call Centre Delays
South Africa’s Social Security Agency (SASSA) is facing a surge in complaints from people struggling with the new verification process and May 2025 payment delays. Worried social grant beneficiaries are rising complaints about SASSA call centre delays, reporting hour-long wait times, dropped calls, and unhelpful responses from the official helpline (0800 60 10 11).
Rising Complaints About SASSA Call Centre Delays
As biometric verification began today, 5 May 2025, and payment dates are set to start from 6 May 2025, the SASSA call centre is under pressure. Beneficiaries who check their grant status for May payments receive “identity verification” status. This is forcing thousands of concerned and frustrated beneficiaries to seek clarification.
Grant recipients rely on the SASSA contact number (0800 60 10 11) for assistance with ongoing verification issues, consult payment delays, and to find the nearby sites for identity verification assessments, only to be met with long delays or no resolution.
With over 18 million beneficiaries relying on SASSA grants, the helpline’s inefficiencies risk leaving vulnerable groups stranded just as deadlines approach. There is an urgent need to manage the growing demand from beneficiaries as the May 2025 payment schedule begins with older persons grants on 6 May, disability grants on 7 May, and children’s grants on 8 May.
Currently, many beneficiaries are in anxiety and checking their SASSA status for grant application approval, but even with approved payments for May 2025, they fear it will be delayed due to mandatory biometric verification on 5 May. This surge in verifications, right on pay dates, has overwhelmed the SASSA system, leaving many stuck in limbo.
SASSA Biometric Verification Backlash
May grant payments delays for unverified beneficiaries have triggered panic. SASSA confirmed that those who fail to complete biometric ID verification will have their grants suspended. But poor helpline support is worsening the situation, especially for those in remote areas who rely on it as their only option.
Victims of fraud or incorrect phone number changes and banking details are also affected, needing to verify in person. Those using alternative IDs must complete biometric enrolment at SASSA offices and mobile verification units, but confusion persists, and the overloaded call centre offers a wait instead of help.
Beneficiaries report endless hold music and unresolved queries. One user shared on the social media platform X: “Three hours on hold, only to be told to visit an office 50km away. SASSA is failing us.”
For families like the Mkhizes in KwaZulu-Natal, delays mean real hardship for SASSA child grant beneficiaries. “R560 for my two kids doesn’t cover food or school fees. Calling SASSA eats airtime, and no one answers,” says Nomvula Mkhize.
SASSA Urged to Improve Helpline for Better SASSA Support
With R284.7 billion allocated for social grants in the 2025/26 national budget, vulnerable beneficiaries are calling on SASSA to invest in improved support channels, including better helpline services and more accessible communication platforms.
To address ongoing delays in helpline responses, there are reports of new SASSA offices being opened in regional and remote areas, along with plans to increase staffing capacity. These steps could help ease pressure on the overloaded helpline and also create job opportunities.
Until structural improvements are implemented, beneficiaries say they will continue to face delays, confusion, and rising anxiety, especially in rural areas where alternatives to the call centre are limited.
