SASSA payment dates: when your grant is paid each month

Last updated 30 August 2026

September 2026 SASSA payment dates

The SASSA payment dates for September 2026 run over three days in the first week of the month. Older persons are paid on Wednesday 2 September, disability on Thursday 3 September, and all children’s grants on Friday 4 September. There is a fourth day, Monday 7 September, for beneficiaries flagged for a review or eLife certification.

Your money does not disappear if you leave it. Grants stay in the account until you draw them, and SASSA does not reverse an unclaimed payment. There is no fixed time of day either. Banks process the batches across the whole day, so the money can land in the morning or late at night.

How SASSA works out the dates

The order never changes. Older persons first, disability the next day, children’s grants the day after. SASSA pays as early in the month as it can, staggered over three days to keep queues down at tills, ATMs and pay points.

A few rules shift the dates in some months. Payments avoid the 1st, weekends, and the day straight after a public holiday, and SASSA generally avoids Mondays. When a date would land on one of those, it usually moves to the next working day. October 2026 is the exception, with the disability grant falling on Monday 5 October because 2 October is a Friday and the following Monday is the next working day. That is why the numbers are not identical every month.

Confirmed dates to March 2027

The exception day for beneficiaries under review falls on 7 October, 6 November and 7 December in the last quarter of 2026, and on the day after the children’s grants date in each of the 2027 months above.

The SRD R370 grant is different

The SRD grant does not follow this schedule. It is paid in batches later in the month, usually in the final week, once SASSA has finished its monthly income verification against SARS, UIF and Home Affairs records. There is no single date. Check your own status rather than assuming a fixed day.

What each grant pays

Amounts changed on 1 April 2026 and hold until the next adjustment.

Qualifying rules differ by grant. The older persons grant applies from age 60 and is subject to an income limit that catches some applicants out. The child support grant has its own means test and a shorter list of required documents, and it pays per child rather than per household.

If your grant has not arrived

Wait until the next morning before you treat it as missing. Payments run in batches through the day and a late-evening deposit is normal.

If it still has not landed, check that your card is active. Beneficiaries who are still using the old gold card need to swap it for the new black card before the cut-off, because payments cannot be drawn on a deactivated card.

After that, go to your nearest SASSA office with your ID. Grants selected for review are paid on the exception day, not the main date, and SASSA notifies those beneficiaries by SMS. If your cellphone number or address has changed, update it, because a review notice you never receive can lead to the grant being suspended.

Where to check

Only trust sassa.gov.za, the official SASSA social media accounts, or your local SASSA office. Payment date pages that ask for your ID number or a fee are not official.

Please leave this field empty

Get South Africa’s Biggest Stories

Join the Southafriworld newsletter for top stories and weekly news highlights, sent straight to your inbox.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Thanks for subscribing. Please check your inbox to confirm your email address.