More than three million South Africans are owed more than R45 billion in unpaid benefits from retirement funds they have left already, according to unclaimedbenefits.co.za.
In many cases when leaving a company, employees may not be aware of funds that have accrued to them. Even if you did receive a payout when you left a fund due to resignation or retrenchment, it does not mean you received all of the benefits due to you. Errors in actuarial calculations or invalid fund rules may have resulted in an underpayment being made. This will cover all funds that you may have been a member of since January 1980.
Although fund administrators may be aware of these funds, they have found it difficult to find the recipients as they have invalid contact details on their records. People move on average every four years, they change cellphone numbers every two years, members emigrate and, unfortunately, sometimes pass away before unpaid benefits can be paid.
Administrators have found it particularly difficult to find elderly people and individuals living in rural areas who do not necessarily have formal telephone numbers and addresses, as well as those who have emigrated or tend to be very mobile, making for contactability problems.
A new standard from the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) ensures that life insurers spend more effort trying to trace beneficiaries of unclaimed funds.
The Standard on Unclaimed Assets
The new Standard on Unclaimed Assets came into effect in June this year and sets out the tracing process that should be followed by life companies. It also stipulates what should happen to assets when beneficiaries cannot be traced.
The main elements of the new standard are:
• Prescription will not apply. In terms of prescription law, a debt does not have to be paid after three years and an unpaid benefit is a debt of a life assurance company to a policyholder. However the rules now exclude policies which mean that you can claim your benefits at any time after they fall due to you.
• A life company may never take ownership of unclaimed assets. However, any money that remains unclaimed by the time the original policyholder is recorded as reaching the age of 100 may be invested in social responsibility initiatives that offer a return on capital.
• Life assurance companies have to report to ASISA once a year on statistics of tracing activities conducted and cases that have not been settled within three years. These statistics will be made available to the Financial Services Board (FSB).
Companies have to trace beneficiaries
Life assurance companies are now obliged to start a process of tracing policyholders or beneficiaries within six months of the assets becoming payable, either as a benefit or a maturity payment, and to repeat the tracing process within a three-year period and again within 10 years if the assets remain unclaimed.
If, after 10 years, the life assurance company cannot trace the beneficiaries or policyholder, an external tracing company must be used. The only time this requirement may be waived is if the benefits concerned are worth less than R1 000 and the cost of tracing exceeds the amount payable. Any reasonable administrative and tracing costs incurred after the first attempt to trace the rightful owners may be recovered from the unclaimed assets.
You will also have to consent to the life assurer sharing your personal information with a tracing company to facilitate tracing beneficiaries in the event that your assets remain unclaimed. If you are an existing policyholder, the life assurance company should provide you with this information as part of its regular communication.
How to check for unclaimed benefits:
There are several ways you could check if there are any unclaimed benefits due to you:
- Register on unclaimedbenefits.co.za
- Check on the FSB website: to search for a specific unclaimed benefit you can do a partial search using either the fund name or your surname.
- If you have an old policy or unit trust investment with a company that no longer exists, you can contact ASISA on (021) 673 1620 to find out what happened to the company and who controls your investment.
To find out about the policy of a deceased relative, you can contact ASISA. Visit www.asisa.org.za
| Lize de la Harpe, a legal adviser at Glacier by Sanlam, says unclaimed benefits refer to any monies due to a person that remain unpaid or unclaimed. Unpaid retirement fund monies are defined in terms of the South African Pensions Funds Act as benefits that remain unclaimed two years after a member leaves a fund due to resignation or retrenchment. |
Hi Maya, I left SA back in 2000 And have lived in Ireland ever since (23 years)
I am turning 66 in 2 weeks, Pension age here in Ireland. I have applied & the Irish State Pension has asked me to produce proof that I am not receiving a pension from South Africa, I am not & have never have.
Please could you give me any information as to how I can obtain a Pension Clearance cert from South Africa.
Thank you.
My only suggestion is SARS. You could ask SARS to issue a letter confirming that you never claimed a tax deduction for a pension fund / RA, indicating that you do not have one.
I’ve worked for Macmed Healthcare until they went into liquidation. We all had to submit claims to the liquidation company Kessell Feinstein. I never heard back from them, some old colleagues told me they received cheques, I contacted Kessell Feinstein to enquire, and they said they couldn’t find me (my number is still the same) and the money was transferred to Treasury. Spent a day trying to phone to speak to someone at the High Courts, eventually giving up. Is there a way to check the value and how to get this. This will be for salaries, holiday, notice pay etc.
Kessell Feinstein should provide you with the value and where the funds are. Seems they are not following up properly.
Good Day maya I have an unclaimed benefit from data factory that was due to me from 2016 till now I have been given a go around with regards to claiming it, I have made calls, emails etc but all my efforts went invane I need your assistance and intervention please
The best strategy is to contact the FSCA with the details in the article. They may be able to assist. Alternatively the Pension Funds Adjudicator
Good day
Worked for sappi fine papers 1986-1997 whent over to provident fund until time leaving company is there a website that gives any info or assistence
Best to contact Sappi HR – if no luck then try the contact details in the article
Good day, After finding my name on the FSCA’s website for unclaimed benefits, I contacted the administrator i.e. Alexander Forbes, to find out if indeed there were/are benefits due to me. The initial email (with all details) was sent October 2019. I have regularly and diligently followed up via email, called etc and have been given the go around time and time again. To date, no one can provide me with any answers. I have escalated this, to no avail. This has now dragged on for more than a year. What recourse do I have? Who can I contact (outside of Alexander Forbes) to deal with this matter? The service is just pathetic.
Hi Maya
Trying to assit my father in law to claim his unclaimed funds. He worked for the mines in the 1970’s. We have spoken to the FSB, the Conpanies who administered the Pension fund, nobody can locate him on the system. He has a record of service from TEBA, but no payslips or proof he contributed to any funds… Where can we go?
Unfortunately it seems that you have done what you can. I know the mines are a big issue and without paperwork it will be difficult. Have you tried here https://unclaimed.mwpf.co.za/
Hi Maya. I discovered that Old Mutual submitted IRP5 for reservation fund on my behalf. The system also show that I have unit trust fund/ trust fund. Do you think I had unclaimed funds with the company ?
You would need to ask them
Hello maya I lost a father to my child 2018 and early this year they sent me letter stating the benefits of my child but up to now I have not recieved anything I want to know where can I go for help or call so I find out what really happened to the money or just to know whether it’s in a safe place or someone has already claimed it.
Who sent you a letter?
Where can I check if I have unclaimed monies from my insurance company
The details of the website are in the article
Please let me know where I can check for unclaimed monies
details are in the article
My dad passed away last year January 28th and he used to work for Sandf then joined SA Navy for a few years and lastly he was in the SA Air Force. He resigned and got his money, I need to know if there might be benefits at GEPF I think maybe he resigned I might get nothing because the website talks about retirement and he resigned before the age of retirement. What should I do, as I’m busy with his estate?
You need to contact the GPAA (Govt Pension Administrator)
My father worked in Saaiplaas gold mine for 30 years full and his been sended back home sick of TB after he is dead they fused him r3700 we need help
The information on how to investigate is in this article https://mayaonmoney.co.za/2017/09/new-search-engine-unclaimed-benefits/
I was a mine worker from 1982 to 1994 due to the war between xhosas and Zulu we were told to go home they promised to call us until today nothing happened and no money we got Iwas Working at ERPM mine
You would need to contact the Financial Services Board
I worked as a nurse at Provincial Hospital Odendaalsrus .Again as a nurse at Kroonstad municipality subsidized by government. Worked for Free State health department now resigned.
You have to contact the Government Employee Pension Fund
I want to know if maybe I have unclaimed benefits I worked at an old age home and department of education
Please note this website does not assist in finding unclaimed benefits – you have to contact your employer or the financial services board
I would like to know that my father is a ex mine worker of 1970s to 1980s where he can go and claim he’s benefit s as he only received uif as he was retrenched at that time? Help please
Try the Financial Services Board at 0800110443
I now live in Australia .i worked in retail at rochelle drapers
. jacks of mowbray. and shoe shack .step high . barns shoes and A&Dspitz.
How will i find out if i have any monies owing to me
my granny did Nursing back in the 1980’s but she is deceased how and where can I check if she had money
If she worked for a private hospital you would need to contact the employer’s HR department. If government then the GPAA 012 319 1911
Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), Phone
My father and mother worked for very good companies, we received money from my father when he passed away,my dad worked at volkswagen sa and art engineering and my mum at goodyear.wher can i go to find out if there are unpaid claims.
The Financial Services Board
Hi Maya
I used to work for a chemical company from 2001 to 2009 due to retrenchment, is it possible to find out it there was a pension surplus due to me?
You would have to contact the pension fund administrator
My Father passed on and was in the process of trying to claim surplus pension and provident fund but never finalized it. He worked for the Johannesburg City Council till 1992. I have his ID and Death Certificate. Can you assist.
unfortunately not you would have to contact the City
I worked at tigerbrands and would like to know if anything is owed to me
Good day. Please can you assist me? I was contacted by ICTS tracing, to tell me I had unclaimed benefits from Kimberly Clark, which is sitting with Alexander Forbes. However despite contacting them multiple times via phone & email – nobody has come back to validate this, nor can anyone tell me how much it is (they refuse to say on the phone, telling me to email my ID, but I’ve now done this twice with no response).
Member Nr. M20498219
Ref from emails to Alexander Forbes: CRM:0047000033015
How do people trust them with their money when responses are this horrific?!
Please help..
Thank you!
How do i claim unpaid benefits i have worked at vodashop control specialized cleaning and link pharmacy but i have never claimed anything and how long does it take to process
HI THERE I WOULD LIKE IF WE CAN CLAIM MY LATE FATHER MONEY HE USED TO WORK FOR TELKOM FROM EARLY 80’s UNTIL 1992
I worked for SAPPI from 1981 till 1987 and I would like to have a claim on their surplus pension fund.
However I have lost all records to prove that I worked for SAPPI
Please advice what can I do.
Thanking you
Ayesha
Hi Miss Mkhize i personaly worked for Gold Fields Mining Ltd from 1981 to 1996 about 15 years i only received retirement Annuity no provident fund no supplus im told Alexander Forbes is administoring pensions and other benefits for Gold Fields Ltd employees they were hiding information from employees as to where our benefits were kept.
If you could provide more information by clicking on the Ask Maya button I will send the information to Alexander Forbes
How can we claim my unpaid Profidunt fund from Gencor ek work for years on ST helena Gold mine
At the end of the article is a list of people to contact
i worked for City of Johannesburg development transportation and environment for about two years under eJoburg retirement Fund which was administered by LEKANA Employee Benefit Solutions are any surplus funds i.d. 5901215693080
You would need to contact the institutions listed at the end of the article
i worked for gold fields mining and development limited head office 75 fox street jhb from 1981 to 1996 i never received any provident fund or surplus funds the head office was closed i have contacted alexander forbes but no solution. my i.d. no. 5901215693080
Good Day
I would like to know if someone passed on and promise to leave everything his will on your name , How do you claim that back and find out if the Person really did live something in your name?
Best Regards
Miss Mkhize
Hi my grandma she use to work for a old age home in a younger age she receive a letter in 2010 on behalf of her surplus and that her 1ste payout was R75000 but according to the letter that she receive it had said she will get the other R75000 when she reapply but she past away 3years ago I would like to know what happen to the money and if her daughter an apply for it thanks a lot.
You have to speak to her former employer