
Adjudicator upholds R4.5m allocation after wife fails to prove financial dependency
The customary wife failed to substantiate her claims of financial dependency and was shown to be estranged from the deceased.

The customary wife failed to substantiate her claims of financial dependency and was shown to be estranged from the deceased.

Dependency is assessed at the member’s date of death, and trustees must conduct active investigations and apply a principled equitable allocation process.

The Adjudicator breached audi alteram partem by making adverse findings about a Fund’s investigation without giving it a substantive opportunity to respond.

The Constitutional Court rules that whether someone qualifies as a dependant must be determined as at the date of a retirement fund member’s death, not when the fund decides how to distribute the benefit.

The Constitutional Court finds that a fund relied on unverified, one-sided information and failed to establish the extent of factual dependency.