QUICK STATS

THE 2016/17 annual report of the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator records the following statistics regarding complaints by retirement fund members: • 1 717 complaints carried over from previous year • 7 501 new complaints received • 3 202 complaints made via email • 1 885 complaints made by members walking into offices • 3 309 determinations handed down • 1 466 matters settled • 2 079 matters deemed out of the jurisdiction of the adjudicator • 75% of determinations handed down within six months of complaint being received

MINISTER VOICES CONCERNS

In his foreword to the report, Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba expressed concern that there were too many cases of funds being badly run or mismanaged. He said it was a cause for concern that, of the many complaints relating to withdrawal benefits, the non-payment of contributions by employers was a trend that continued unabated and flew in the face of regulations.

“It [is] obligatory on the part of retirement funds to invest wisely to ensure that those who have spent most of their lifetime working do not suffer the burden of poverty when they go on retirement,” Gigaba said.

Abel Sithole, the chairperson of the Financial Services Board, said in an introductory message that a highlight of the operations of the adjudicator’s office during the 2016/17 reporting period was the extent to which it had been able to finalise matters expeditiously.

He said it was, however, distressing that over 80% of responses from retirement funds to complaints lodged with the adjudicator were received only between two and three months of the request for such a response being made, thus delaying the resolution of complaints.

“Retirement funds often wait for repeated letters before responding. It must be noted that this practice burdens the adjudicator’s office, both in terms of human and financial resources, which could be better spent improving its services,” Sithole said. martin.hesse@inl.co.za