SASSA confirms February payment dates and dismisses ‘foreign national’ policy rumours

SASSA confirms grant dates — Picture: Facebook/SASSA

SASSA has scheduled the distribution of over 19 million grants for the first week of February 2026, beginning with pensioners on the 3rd of the month.
Monthly payments range from R370 for the Social Relief of Distress grant to R2,335 for older persons aged 75 and over.
The agency has officially dismissed social media rumours, confirming that no regulatory changes have been made to expand SRD grant eligibility for foreign nationals.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has confirmed that social grant distributions for February 2026 will commence during the first week of the month.

The agency, which manages over 19 million monthly payments, also took the opportunity to address “misleading” reports regarding eligibility for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.

Beneficiaries can expect payments to be rolled out according to the following schedule:

Older Persons Grant: Tuesday, 3 February
Disability Grant: Wednesday, 4 February
Children’s Grants: Thursday, 5 February

The agency noted that the Child Support Grant, Foster Care Grant, and Care Dependency Grant fall under the “Children’s Grants” category for payment purposes.

In a statement released on Tuesday, SASSA categorically denied claims circulating on social media suggesting that policy amendments had been made to allow more foreign nationals to access the SRD grant.

The SRD grant, originally introduced as a temporary measure during the Covid-19 pandemic, remains subject to strict qualification criteria. SASSA officials emphasised that there have been no changes to the regulations governing who can apply for the R370 monthly payment.

“SASSA wishes to categorically state and put it on record that no policies or regulations have been amended regarding the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress,” the agency confirmed.