Grant Beneficiaries Are Being Signed up for Funeral Policies Without Their Permission

Rezara Makhalimela says he was signed up to a funeral policy with 1Life without his permission. R190 has been deducted from his monthly old-age grant.

Hundreds of pensioners across the country are finding that money is being deducted from their old-age grants without their permission.

It appears these deductions, of between R100 and R280 a month, are for funeral policies, which grant recipients do not recall signing up for.

GroundUp spoke to several grant beneficiaries in Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, who have noticed unauthorised deductions from their grants. SASSA staff at the local offices were of little help.

We sent the ID numbers of six pensioners to SASSA and asked why deductions are being made from their grants. SASSA confirmed that they all had funeral policies through either 1Life or Emerald Life and that the policy payments are deducted from their grant amounts.

None of the people we spoke to had a copy of any written contract with 1Life or Emerald Life, nor did they know their policy numbers. They did not even know they had a policy.

1Life and Emerald Life (previously Emerald Wealth) have a long history of questionable practices when selling policies to social grant beneficiaries. 1Life used to be a subsidiary of Net1, which also owned Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), the company that, until 2018, had an unlawful contract with SASSA to administer all social grant payments. Emerald Wealth used to sell policies underwritten by 1Life.

Today, 1Life is owned by Clientele Limited. Clientele is also in the process of acquiring Emerald Life, which also offers administration services to 1Life.

The week after GroundUp sent questions to the companies, a representative from Emerald Life visited the grant beneficiaries and cancelled their policies, promising to refund them. Those with 1Life policies have not been contacted by that company.

SASSA spokesperson Andile Tshona told GroundUp that the beneficiaries whose deductions we enquired about “will be escalated for cancellation of these policies”.

Pensioners exploited

Most of the pensioners we spoke to cannot read or write. Their monthly social grant is the only income they have.

Some of them withdraw their grants at ATMs, requiring assistance from bank staff. Others withdraw at retailers or ask their children or grandchildren to withdraw the money on their behalf. Travelling to a SASSA branch to question or report the unauthorised deductions is a strain on their limited resources.

78-year-old John Mathipa from Elim has had deductions on his grant since 2023. The deductions mean he is unable to make ends meet. He often has to borrow R400 from loan sharks, paying R40 interest for every R100.

SASSA confirmed to GroundUp that his deductions were for a policy with Emerald Life. “No one explained anything to me, and I never signed up for any policy,” he said.

At least three other people we spoke to have had deductions from their grants, but do not remember signing up for policies.

Several people from Mpheni Village report having been visited by 1Life agents in May and June. Although they did give copies of their IDs to the agents, they did not think that meant they were signing up for policies.

Those who visited SASSA’s offices said they were unable to get the help they needed.

Almost all the pensioners we spoke to said they already had existing policies with local companies, which they pay in cash every month, so there would be no reason for them to sign up for a new one.

Why does this happen?

SASSA spokesperson Andile Tshona says deductions for insurance policies are allowed by the Social Security Act, as long as they do not exceed 10% of the grant value and that no more than one policy is attached to a grant.

SASSA uses a system provided by Qlink to manage the deductions. Signed contracts are supposed to be verified by the insurance companies, Qlink and SASSA before deductions are made, said Tshona.

Tshona said beneficiaries who notice shortfalls in their grants need to contact SASSA or visit their offices. SASSA will review the signed contracts, and Qlink will verify it with the insurer. Beneficiaries will be fully refunded if it is found that the contracts are not authentic. (SASSA staff have not followed this process with any of the beneficiaries we spoke to).

Emerald Life’s complaints manager, Jill Abrahams, said none of the people we enquired about had “at any stage, contacted Emerald Life directly to raise a complaint relating to their insurance contracts with Emerald Life”.

But Abrahams said the company would contact the pensioners whose names were provided and that a senior manager would visit the community.

GroundUp confirmed with the pensioners that they have indeed been visited and have been promised refunds for the unauthorised deductions.

1Life Insurance said they are “deeply concerned by the claims raised”. They said their investigation into the pensioners’ claims “has not revealed any evidence of mis-selling”, but they will assist clients wanting to cancel their policies.

“We encourage affected individuals to contact us directly so that we can resolve their concerns swiftly.”

(Before GroundUp’s queries, the pensioners did not know they had 1Life or Emerald Life policies and had no way of contacting them.)

Oliver Meth, communications manager at Black Sash, called on SASSA to take stronger action.

“If SASSA truly does not work with insurance companies, then it should take a much firmer stance when beneficiaries report unauthorised deductions. At the very least, SASSA should immediately suspend the deductions while investigating, assist beneficiaries in reclaiming funds that were wrongly deducted, and share information transparently about which companies are involved.”

Meth said the onus should not be on pensioners: “The system itself needs stronger protections. Grants must reach beneficiaries in full, without being chipped away by exploitative companies. These are not small amounts; they are life-and-death amounts.”

Co-published with Limpopo Mirror

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