A pension fund has been left red faced after two serious failures shattered confidence in its death benefit distribution governance, following investigations by the Pension Funds Adjudicator.
First, the Becsa Provident Fund paid incorrect amounts to beneficiaries - only fixing a shortfall of more than R325?000 after the beneficiaries themselves flagged the mistake.
Then, in an even more troubling lapse, the fund allocated a portion of the death benefit to a woman presented as the deceased’s cohabiting partner. The alleged cohabiting partner later reneged on claims that she was the deceased’s cohabiting partner and disclosed that she had in fact been persuaded by a friend to lodge the false claim, lured by the prospect of quick money.
At the heart of these missteps lies a deeper concern: insufficient investigation of the claims of alleged cohabitation between the deceased and the alleged cohabiting partner.
The complaint was brought before the Adjudicator Lebogang Mogashoa by the deceased’s mother, after her son passed away on 29 August 2022. A death benefit of R2?069?241.89 became available for allocation to beneficiaries after a tax deduction of R709?121.03 and inclusion of R121?082.26 in interest.
On 18 April 2024, the board resolved to allocate the benefit as follows: 30% (R543?913.19) each to the deceased’s parents and sister, and 10% (R181?304.40) to the alleged cohabiting partner. But when payments were made in November 2023, each family member received only...
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