By: Natasha Archary
What happens when employers fail to make pension contributions to the relevant fund administrators?
Pension Funds Adjudicator, Muvhango Lukhaimane joins Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz to breakdown what employees can do to make sure they are kept up to date on their pension fund.
“Most employees will receive a pay-slip and they will note a deduction coming off, together which a contribution from the employer, which is paid into your pension fund.
But this is not always the case, and if you are a member of a pension fund, you need to make sure you receive a benefit statement from the fund, which will tell you exactly when the employer registered you with the fund.
It will also give you an indication if the employer is up to date with their contribution towards your pension fund, if not, when last did they make a payment into your fund.
So, it’s very important that you get a benefit statement every 12-months from your fund.”
Pension Funds Adjudicator, Muvhango Lukhaimane
Lukhaimane says the benefit statements are supposed to be automatically sent to you, according to the Pension Funds Act.
The benefit statement for your pension fund should not come from your employer because it should be coming directly from the fund.
If the employer is non-compliant, they should be reported to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, and the board must outline what is being done to recover the unpaid contributions.
Employers who are liable for outstanding contributions must also pay the interest on the outstanding contributions.
If contributions are still outstanding after 3-months, a criminal case must be lodged with the South African Police Service.
Responsible parties can face a fine of up to R10 million or imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:
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