Almost R45bn Worth of Pension Funds in SA’s Retirement Industry Lie Unclaimed

• Pension funds in the country have been accumulating, with reports stating that nearly R45 billion has not been claimed
• The Financial Sector Conduct Authority collected this data by the end of 2019 and is currently capturing details for the 2020 financial year
• Beneficiaries are reportedly being tracked down by the FSCA and in the past five years over R20 billion was paid out

DURBAN - The cumulative amount of unclaimed pension funds in the South African retirement sector is R44.9 billion. This data comes from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) at the end of 2019.

The FSCA is currently waiting for 2020 figures which will likely change the above figure. The money is reportedly associated with 4.5 million beneficiaries who have not claimed their funds for various reasons.

In an attempt to track and return the funds to the beneficiaries, in the last five years over R20 billion was paid out to almost 600 000 members. This averages to around R36 978 per member who was paid.

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According to Business Insider, the FSCA believes that around 40% of the money that has not been claimed will never be paid to whom it belongs. The FCSA put forward an idea that there should be a centralised fund to keep the money.

How to find out if money is owed to you

There are various methods to figure out whether or not you fall into the category of the people who have not claimed their funds. Email enquiries, SMS enquiries, using the FSCA website, calling the toll-free number of 0800 203 722, fax submissions or even making your way to the FCSA's offices.

Conduct Supervision Manager at FSCA Takalani Lukhaimane stated that only once a valid claim has been determined through an enquiry will the administrator provide forms to the individual for a payment to be facilitated.

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Why and how is the money not being paid to beneficiaries?

Olano Makhubela, Divisional Executive of Retirement Funds at the Regulator, says that the main reason the funds are accumulating is due to employees' data not being captured accurately; especially during Apartheid, this is according to News24.

FNB promises R3 million to vaccinated account holders through a random draw

In other business-related news, Briefly News reported that First National Bank (FNB), through an effort to promote not only the health benefits of the Covid19 vaccination but also the economic support that it could potentially offer; has launched a lucky draw among their customers who have been vaccinated with an opportunity for FNB account holders to win over R3 million.

Scheduled to run during October, November and December the lucky draw will see an individual chosen each month whereby they will receive R3 million for simply being an FNB customer.

An additional R1 million is promised if the person is 60 years or older and up to R2 million more is awarded if the chosen FNB customer possesses an FNB life policy.

Source: Briefly News