Unclaimed benefits in billions of rands
Administrators are struggling to find beneficiaries
An unclaimed benefit is a benefit due to a member or former member of a fund, or the member’s beneficiary, where the benefit has not been paid for at least 24 months.
Some unclaimed benefits arose as a result of fund members not knowing that they are entitled to a benefit, or as a result of the fund being unable to pay the benefit (where members were migrant workers who returned to their home countries/provinces as soon as they stopped working for their employers).
To this day, many people who are employed and members of a pension or provident fund do not know the name of the fund or the name of the fund administrator.
Administrators are entities that have been granted approval by the registrar of pension funds to collect contributions paid on behalf of members and to make payment of fund benefits.
At times, the employer may change the administrator or move the fund from one umbrella fund to another.
The law requires that funds communicate such changes to members before the transfer, and it is therefore important for a member of a fund to know the name of the fund and of the administrator.
According to the Financial Services Board, about R42-billion is sitting in unclaimed benefit funds.
An unclaimed benefit fund is a retirement fund set up to receive unclaimed benefits from the active and soon-to-be terminated pension funds with the intention to trace those members to whom benefits are due, and to pay their benefits.
The difficulty in tracing members is caused by the unavailability of member data such as recent contact details and identities of relatives.
How to check unclaimed benefits?
In 2016 the registrar of pension funds asked pension funds and administrators to provide information around the unclaimed benefits held in the funds.
The registrar is now better enabled to assist members of the public and to direct them to the relevant fund administrator to check if they have an unclaimed benefit.
If you did not receive your benefit from the fund when you stopped working for the employer, then do the following steps: Go onto the Financial Services Board’s website at: www.fsb.co.za
Click on “unclaimed benefits search” Enter the information required.
If you have an unclaimed benefit, the site should provide you with the details of the administrator. You will then have to contact the administrator and inquire.
If you do not have access to the internet, ask another person who you trust to do the search for you.
Mothibi is Liberty’s corporate legal manager. For further information, contact Liberty on 011- 408- 2999 or LC.CONTACT@liberty.co.za