Kaya 959 Reporter
About R33.5 billion is being held by life insurance companies and unit trust firms for policyholders, investors, and beneficiaries who have not yet claimed their benefits.
According to data made public by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority earlier this year.
This is in addition to the R47.3 billion held in retirement funds for members and their beneficiaries.
Kaya Biz with Gugulethu Mfuphi spoke with Rosemary Lightbody Senior Advisor with the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) who unpack what this means for South Africans who have not claimed monies due to them.
LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION HERE:
Lightbody explained how financial services providers end up having massive sums of money at their disposal that is unclaimed.
“This is probably because of both customers and the long-term nature of these products, people save in investment schemes and pay premiums on life policies, and funeral policies, often because of an event they see happening quite far into the future.”
“When they change their address, perhaps some people might change their cellphone number, and some people might change their email addresses, they completely forget to tell that company what their new details are.”
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She advised that in order to prevent losing money when investment policies mature or beneficiaries not receiving benefits as a result of them after your passing, consumers should do the following;
- Ensure that banking institutions have your most recent contact information
Regularly verify the beneficiaries of any insurance policies you own - Give beneficiaries their ID numbers and contact information.
- Don’t forget to include beneficiaries when purchasing funeral coverage through your employer’s group life insurance program, your pension, or your provident fund. The benefit will be paid into your estate, which could take months to settle if you do not designate a beneficiary.
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