The Pension Funds Adjudicator has criticised the Chemical Industries National Provident Fund (CINPF) after a death-benefit claim lodged in August 2017 remained unresolved for almost nine years, with the fund unable to confirm whether a distribution resolution was passed or whether the benefit was paid.
The complaint was lodged with the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator in June 2025 by the mother of the deceased member, a pensioner who said she had depended on her son for groceries, medical expenses, and policy payments. The member, who was employed by Tosasmsp-Tosas (Pty) Ltd, belonged to the CINPF from 1 July 2013 until his death on 26 April 2017. His fund credit was recorded as R40 588.34.
The fund said its administrator investigated the matter and found that the deceased did not reflect on its system. It then engaged former administrators Akani and NBC to establish whether the deceased had appeared on their systems, the status of the death-benefit claim, whether any investigations into dependants had been conducted, and whether payment of the benefit had been made.
Akani later confirmed that the deceased did not appear on its system, but said NBC had received a death-benefit claim on 2 August 2017. The papers also reflected that Ms Mokoena had been appointed executor of the deceased’s estate on 4 May 2017.
The record further included an email and confirmation of payment from Liberty dated 22 August 2017, indicating that a death-claim benefit of R394 205.28 had been paid to CINPF Raubex Group on 11 August 2017. Even so, the fund said NBC had advised that no payment was made from its system at the time because the distribution resolution authorising the allocation of the death benefit had not yet been received when the matter was handed over to Akani.
The fund said it was still trying to determine whether a distribution resolution had been made in 2017 in respect of the claim. If no resolution was passed, the trustees would need to discuss the matter and decide how the benefit should be allocated.
The Adjudicator, Lebogang Mogashoa (pictured), described the board’s conduct as “severely deprecated” and said the fund had still been unable to confirm whether a resolution had been passed, despite submitting an interim response in December 2025. He found that the delay reflected a lack of urgency and accountability.
The determination emphasises that a change in administrators does not excuse a fund’s inability to account for a death benefit. The board remains responsible for the governance of the fund and for ensuring that proper records are kept, including registers, books, minutes, and resolutions.
Delegating functions to administrators does not remove that responsibility. Mogashoa said the absence of records such as minutes and a resolution in relation to the benefit suggested a failure to comply with statutory duties.
“Perhaps more concerning is the fact that the board’s conduct also implies that the fund’s records may not be kept in the manner contemplated by the Act,” he said.
He added that the fund appeared not to have, independent of the administrator, any record showing whether the benefit had been paid. That failure was inconsistent with the governance obligations imposed on the board by the Pension Funds Act and related governance prescripts.
On the evidence before him, the Adjudicator found that the complainant had discharged the burden of proof. In the absence of lawful justification, the fund was ordered to finalise its section 37C investigation and distribute the benefit to the dependants and beneficiaries.
Given the delay, Mogashoa also ordered the fund to pay interest at 10.25% a year, calculated from 2 August 2018 – 12 months after the claim was lodged – until the date of payment.
