After submitting your Social Relief grant application, you might want to do a Sassa status check. But you might find that your application status is ‘reapplication pending’. Here’s what that Sassa status means, and what you can do about it.
The Sassa grant refers to a social assistance grant provided by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) to eligible grant beneficiaries who are in need of financial assistance.
One of the social security benefits that vulnerable individuals have access to includes the Sassa R350 grant, which many individuals as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.
It is mandatory for R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD) grant beneficiaries to be South African citizens, permanent residents, or Refugees registered in the Home Affairs system.
Sassa offers the distress grant to individuals who are between the ages of 18 and 59, unemployed, and not already receiving some kind of government financial support.
According to Sassa, prospective Sassa R350 grant applicants may submit their Sassa application on the distress grant website on time for the government agency to be able to commence with its application process.
Whilst Sassa continues to administer various types of grants such as the child support grant, disability grants, and the old age grant (pension). The grants are means-tested, meaning that eligibility is based on the income and assets of the individual or the household.
The amount of the grant money will differ depending on the type of grant and the individual’s circumstances.
The SRD grant is a very important relief measure for so many people as it provides a way to meet basic needs when times are difficult.
What does ‘Reapplication Pending’ mean?
The R350 grant has no set payment date, but Sassa has advised SRD grant beneficiaries to constantly check for their Sassa status.
When submitting your SRD grant application status check, you might be questioning the Sassa SRD status that you have received.
If you have received a Sassa status pending, this simply means that there was no reapplication that was received for the SRD grant.
It is for this reason that you have been notified by the government agency of your ‘Reapplication Pending’ Sassa grant status.
After receiving your pending status, it is important that you know what is it that you need to do next.
Sassa has emphasised that a pending application for the R350 grant should be submitted using the SRD Sassa website.
Why does a Sassa Status Check?
Most of the many millions of payments made by Sassa are processed smoothly. However, there are times when there are problems and people are left wondering when they will get paid and what is their set payment date for the grant.
Doing a status check as a Sassa grant holder is important as it provides you with your set payment date to access your grant money and also your grant application outcome, especially if you continue to have a Sassa pending status.
When you do the check, it can either be an SRD status check or a general Sassa status check.
How To Do a Sassa Status Check on the Website
- Go to apply online
- Enter your ID and mobile number
- Click “Send SMS”
- Then enter the one-time pin (OTP) that Sassa has sent to the number for the status check.
As per the Sassa application process, qualifying individuals who will be either submitting a new application or reapplying have been urged to accept the declaration and consent.
Sassa has also advised grant beneficiaries to only submit one application instead of multiple applications unless the government agency hadn’t recorded the online SRD grant application.
However, once an application has been successfully submitted, confirmation will be sent to the grant application as the application process has commenced.
This will be followed by Sassa sticking to its processing time of the grant applications so that they receive their grant application outcome on time.
Whilst the SRD grant requirements have been changed a few times, Sassa has become stricter in verifying grant applications.
Here’s How Sassa Follows The Verification Process For SRD Grant Applications
Prior to an SRD grant application being approved, the government agency needs to follow its verification process.
According to SASSA, the SRD grant applicants ought to be aware that the agency does not only verify banking details through various financial institutions but also verifies citizenship with the Department of Home Affairs, and this includes checking whether the person is UIF registered or not through the Department of Employment and Labour.
When the applicant has successfully passed all verification, SASSA will approve the application and the status will be updated to ‘approved’.
On the contrary, should the SRD application status state ‘pending’, it then indicates that the verification has not yet been finalised.
In the previous grant payment cycles, SRD grant beneficiaries have complained about delayed grant payment dates even after the grant application has been approved by the government agency.
Although most social grants have set payment dates, delays in their grant payment have been caused by grant beneficiaries not providing the correct bank account details.
Sassa explained that some of the issues that have surfaced include beneficiaries making mistakes when they enter their personal details, and some of them only choose the name of the financial institution where they want to get the grant when they enter their banking details.
Grant beneficiaries have been reminded to keep on checking their personal details to ensure that they are correct and the grant funds are received by the right person.
What A Sassa ‘Pending’ Status Means
Sassa has revealed that if you see “pending” on your application status, it means that your application has not yet been approved.
This is because Sassa is still in the process of scanning your details which they will need to verify before you can be approved as an SRD grant beneficiaries.
If your SRD application is approved, you will receive an SMS from SASSA requesting your bank details. Sassa will use these banking details to pay your money each month, so it is important that you make sure you provide the correct banking information, contact and personal details.
