The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has confirmed the official payment dates for all main social grants in February 2026. With that information, millions of social grants recipients can prepare accordingly for payment ahead. These dates are included in SASSA’s standard 2025/26 financial year calendar so that beneficiaries are provided with a very exact idea of the day of each monthly grant that will be granted.
Mainstream Grant Payment Dates at the Beginning of February
SASSA is considering that the core social grants are paid over a timetable of the three days that happen on the first week of February 2026. On the 3rd, the Older Persons Grants-ISS will be disbursed to those above 60 years old. On the following day, February 4th, Disability Grants up to 200 Rands, will be doled out to people who qualify and are living with disabilities.
All other persons dependent on mainstream Social Grants, namely Child Support Grants, Foster Child Grants, Care Dependency Grants, and associated payments, will be paid on Thursday, 5 February 2026. Alternatively, SASSA avails a staggered payment system to nearly accommodate South Africa’s elderly people, by skewing its payment dates so as to alleviate the congestion at particular points for the payment of national grants, notwithstanding the generalities. Such an arrangement is also seen as a way to streamline the processing into various bank accounts and retail outlets.
COVID-19. Special Relief of Distress (SRD) R350 Grant for the Month of January
SRD grant vs. permanent social grants have a different starting day on which they come into effect. Instead, payments for SRD will be made late in February, once the verification transformation, capping the mountains’ pockets, of prospective applicants have been done. According to SASSA’s timetable, these payments could take up until 24 February or even later year, depending upon when the verification and approval of individual application has been equally issued. Beneficiaries should always monitor SRD status through SASSA’s official channel to know the exact day they may eagerly await to receive their payments.
How Grants Are Paid and How Beneficiaries Are to Act
If you have a grant, you will be paid as per your payment method, choice, whether it be bank deposit, SASSA cards for ATM or retail outlets, or any other pay point approved. If there is a public holiday on the day of your payment, the payments will be made on the next working day.
As with any other inconvenience, once-off payments which are strictly for the unbanked or urgent cases are the truth. Account-holders need not be in a hurry to withdraw it on the very first day, the monies-at an official date-are settled to those accounts and left there, waiting to be collected or used.