Recently, I’ve been receiving complaints from members of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) who say they are experiencing delays in receiving their benefit payments. These relate to resignation, divorce and death benefits.
These members claim that resignation benefits submitted in September 2024 have not yet been paid, and that the answer they’ve been given when querying this, is that “the actuaries are currently busy with the calculation process.”
I asked Brian Karidza, Head of Actuarial & Benefits Administration at the GEPF if the fund was having problems processing payments.
I am publishing his full response here.
Response from the GEPF
“While I understand the frustration felt by members experiencing delays, I want to reassure you that the Fund continues to pay the majority of benefits on time.
“As a large pension fund, our absolute number of late payments can appear high, but in proportional terms, the vast majority of claims are processed within the 60-day target once we have all the required documentation.
“That said, we do acknowledge there are challenges. In many instances, forms arrive late at GPAA or are returned to employers for corrections, which introduces additional processing time.
“Since the introduction of the Two-Component system, volumes of claims have increased more than tenfold, which has increased the workload and challenges, yet we have continued to pay the benefits.
“Finally, the development effort required to support complex benefit structures like the GEPF’s is naturally substantial, and the recent system enhancements have taken longer than anticipated.
“Nonetheless, I can confirm that payments are still being made, and we are continuously working with GPAA to streamline processes and reduce backlogs. Exits post 1 September 2024 are being paid, and the calculations and formulas have been in place and fully operational since then.
“Death benefits present additional challenges. We carry out thorough investigations to identify all potential legal, financial, and future beneficiaries, which can extend processing times.
“However, these procedures are essential to ensure that every entitled recipient is correctly and fairly paid. You will appreciate that this approach mirrors the rigorous standards applied by other funds governed by the Pension Funds Act.
“I should also clarify that GEPF benefits are not paid from taxpayer funds but from contributions and investment returns within the Fund. Any late-payment interest is likewise funded from those returns, so no external money is used.”
Good day Maya
I submitted my divorce claim in February 2025 in Polokwane and I was advised it would take 60 working days to get the payout, but was also advised to call the Gepf head office to do a follow-up.
I call twice a week to check my file I was told is with the finance department busy with the calculation it’s been 6 weeks now still busy with the calculation. This other day I was told that the actuaries are waiting for the calculation method.
I lost my job and I can’t afford to pay my rent anymore and I have kids to take care of.
The whole procedure is frustrating.
Hi Maya, My father passed away in November 2024 and despite submitting all documents in order for my mother to receive the spousal pension she is now entitled to, to date nothing has been received. Each month I travel to the GPAA office in CT and each month they “escalate” the matter as according to them there is nothing holding up my mother’s pension and they cannot see anything which needs to be addressed. I cannot call the head office as the phones either dont work or are never answered. My mother is 88 years old and suffers from Cardiovascular disease and Kidney disease and she is a member of GEMS medical aid. Of utmost distress to her and our family is that she is without income now, and we are scrambling to pay the full GEMS subscription amount as without her pension being paid we cannot get the subsidiary benefit. The result of this is that we will have to cancel her medical aid in the near future. This is causing much anxiety to her. Are you able to assist us in any way? Or point us in right direction to someone who can? We are desperate please!
Dear Mr Brian Karidza.
With all due respect to you and GPEF/GPAA.
Besides waiting for a death claim/spouse pension to be paid since June 2024, acknowledging the delays where the file has been Rejected 3 times.
Spent 2 months in Legal Department in 2024.
Recently back in Legal Department for 2 months (and no movement as we speak). Due to a (possible) beneficiary who passed.
Please do not flatter yourself because as much as I agree with due diligence, your Legal Department is both slow and understaffed. The Call Center at times will give you the ‘Please call again in 7 days”.
Further to that, the board of trustees decision to reallocate the percentages because “they can”, is utter BS. (Not sure if it pertains to your dept)
Nice to know that whilst you go home at night and have a full fridge, some of us are borrowing monies, assets being repossessed by lawyers.
So excuse me for my skeptism regarding the whole process.
Each department gets 60 days to process but if you realise how many departments checks there are, the whole process itself can take 3 years.
So I will happy to come sit with you and Miss Maya and the thousand others on a Zoom meeting and discussions solutions and the problems we face.
Hi Maya
I am an IFA myself running a practice with 80% of my clients coming from retirements and GEPF.
The introduction of 2 Pot System revealed a lot of challenges and the fact that GEPF were never ready for this change.The ROT given to clients after a lengthy delay did not have 2 pot split,this created a problem with the fund managers to allocate the funds properly as their systems were updated to include 2 pot system but GEPF did not.GEPF had to create an annexure 6 which only one person was tasked to create.Then came the issue of Sars directive for the new allocation not being done which was not speaking to GEPF system.This happend to those who resigned …Those who retired through GEPF did not have problem to receive their funds.
The central person is the member,I wish GEPF can liaise with pension funds to sort out the systems so that members didn’t wait long to receive their funds.
Thank you for the feedback. Agreed, there were far too many issues with the system
It is a pity to hear something like this? My wife passed away in October 2024 and the death benefit has not been paid. I phone week in week out I’m told that the actuaries are waiting for the calculation method as a result of the two pot system implementation. I’m also told that since September 2024 no death cases have been paid. How true is this?
According to the response from GEPF, death claims have been paid but there have been issues with some of them. If you send me the persal number I can ask them