Missing payslip problem

A PAYSLIP dating back 28 years ago is allegedly standing between a government retiree and her pension payout.

The special education teacher, who retired in December after 34 years of service, said the Department of Education told her that her money could only be released by the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) once she submitted a payslip dating back to 1992.

Sizakele Bhengu, 60, said she made her application to the GEPF in September last year. No communication was received until she contacted the fund in March and was told that her file had been sent back to the department of education as it required the missing payslip.

She then approached officials at the department’s head office in Pietermaritzburg who apparently kept shifting the responsibility, Bhengu said. Months later she was informed that they did not have any files dating back to 1992 in its archives and she was advised to hire a lawyer.

“It is the department’s responsibility to keep employee files, but they sent me from office to office to look for the missing payslip,” she said.

“The department said the lawyer would help me to write a letter to the GEPF requesting them to process the payment, but the letter had to indicate that I will reclaim for the other years as soon as I get the payslip.”

An official from the department said this meant that Bhengu would only be paid out for the period between 1985 and 1991. Once she submitted the 1992 payslip she would receive the rest of her money.

Bhengu said when she started teaching in 1985, she only received her first salary after a few months of work. She said she did not receive the 1992 payslip and doubted it existed.

“If I had money, I would have taken my matter to a lawyer a long time ago because it seems that is the only way I will get paid. It has been very difficult for the past six months and the department does not seem to care much,” she said.

Mack Lewele, senior communications manager at the Government Pensions Administration Agency said by law, the agency was required to pay retirees within 60 days, but delays were often caused by errors in paperwork.

In Bhengu’s case, Lewele said the department was responsible for ensuring that members had the required documentation by checking their records and providing proof of their contributions to the GEPF. He discouraged her from getting a lawyer stating that Bhengu’s benefits were guaranteed.

“The GEPF has no intention of withholding benefits but we need all documents to be provided,” he said. “This requirement remains and the GEPF is on the side of the member and we want to pay her. The member’s benefits can never be lost or forfeited.”

Kwazi Mthethwa, KZN education spokesperson, suggested that Bhengu return to the department’s human resources division and guaranteed that she would receive the required assistance.

If I had money, I would have taken my matter to a lawyer a long time ago because it seems that is the only way I will get paid. Sizakele Bhengu RETIRED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER