A retirement fund has been referred to the Financial Services Conduct Authority for investigation and possible penalty after repeatedly failing to respond to requests for information from the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator.
Deputy Pension Funds Adjudicator Naheem Essop (pictured) ordered that the conduct of the Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (PPWAWU) fund be investigated. The fund is administered by Fairsure Administration (Pty) Ltd.
In his determination, Essop said the OPFA has experienced ongoing difficulty obtaining responses from funds administered by Fairsure, a matter that has already been brought to the attention of the FSCA.
The complaint concerned the non-payment of a death benefit following the death of an employee of Afripack (Pty) Ltd in August 2023. The complainant, the deceased’s spouse, said she submitted all the required documentation to the fund after his death.
She stated that a trustee of the fund contacted her and arranged to meet her in town, rather than at the fund’s offices. At that meeting, he provided her with a letter indicating that the deceased’s benefit amounted to R6 000.56. The complainant said the letter was not addressed to her and questioned whether the amount was correct, given that the deceased had been employed since 1981.
The complainant submitted a letter from the employer confirming that the deceased had been employed from 19 February 1981, as well as correspondence from the Master of the High Court dated 24 January 2024 indicating that letters of authority or executorship could not be issued without disclosure of the outstanding balance.
The employer was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations but failed to do so. The fund, its chairperson, and its principal officer were granted multiple opportunities to comment but also failed to respond.
Essop found that the fund had not paid the death benefit to the deceased’s potential beneficiaries, and there was no evidence that a proper investigation had been conducted. He noted that an excessively long period had elapsed since the date of death.
“The fund’s failure to provide a formal response is concerning and prejudices the complainant,” Essop said. “The Adjudicator is unable to determine whether all contributions were received or whether the fund conducted a proper investigation as required under section 37C of the [Pension Funds] Act. What is even more concerning is that serious allegations against a trustee have gone unanswered.”
On this basis, the matter was referred to the FSCA for investigation.
Essop ordered the fund to finalise its investigation in terms of section 37C of the Act by 31 January 2026 and to allocate and pay the deceased’s death benefit to the identified beneficiaries on or before 20 February 2026.
Moonstone asked Fairsure and PPWAWU for a respond to Essop’s statements, but none was received by the time of publication.
