KwaZulu-Natal loses the most SASSA beneficiaries in 3 months

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has been cracking down on social grant beneficiaries.

In three months, the agency dropped 241 046 grant beneficiaries, despite having a record number of applications.

KwaZulu-Natal had the highest reduction in beneficiaries.

KZN Loses the Most Beneficiaries

KwaZulu-Natal lost 56 263 grant beneficiaries between April and June.

At the end of March 2026, the province had 4 217 843 beneficiaries. By the end of June, 4 161 481 beneficiaries remained.

That’s a 1.27% drop.

The report doesn’t reveal how the agency achieved the decline.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the province received 81 543 grant applications in the three months ending June.

Of those, the agency only refused 9 834.

The remaining 71 674 were approved.

Despite these applications and approvals, KwaZulu-Natal still contributed 23.3% to the decline in beneficiaries.

The report does show that 86 238 grants lapsed.

Temporary disability grants typically lapse every 6 months to 1 year.

In KwaZulu-Natal, SASSA refused 8 272 disability grant applications between April and June.

This contributed most to the declines.

But grants can also lapse if a beneficiary hasn’t withdrawn the grant money for 3 consecutive months.

According to the data, most lapsed grants impacted children.

Only 6 439 disability grants and a further 4 964 Old Age Grants lapsed.

However, 11 047 grants lapsed for children under 2.

Other Provinces Impacted

It’s not only KwaZulu-Natal that has been dropping grant beneficiaries.

Every province had a drop in grant recipients.

Gauteng lost the second most beneficiaries. In the second quarter, the province lost 39 673 beneficiaries.

The Western Cape was next, losing 35 150 grant recipients.

The Northern Cape lost the fewest grant beneficiaries.

Province	Decline in Grant Beneficiaries (April – June 2026)
KwaZulu-Natal	-56 362
Gauteng	-39 673
Western Cape	-35 150
Eastern Cape	-31 878
Limpopo	-23 280
Mpumalanga	-16 222
Free State	-16 068
North West	-14 759
Northern Cape	-7 654

Who is Losing their Grant?

The agency revealed that most of the decline in grants comes from Child Support Grants.

The grant saw a decline of 277 546 beneficiaries in three months.

Disability grants were next affected. 4 716 beneficiaries no longer get a disability grant.

The War Veteran Grant declined by 1 beneficiary.

Every other grant, including the grant-in-aid, old age and foster care grants, increased.