Legislative guide for miners’ pensions

Here are the key legislative milestones for miners who have not claimed their pensions, according to the Financial Services Board (FSB).

2001: The Pension Fund Act, 1956 (PF Act) was amended, inserting provisions governed how surplus funds would be apportioned to include former members who left the fund;

2002: The registrar of the FSB was in discussions with the national Treasury regarding the payment and tracing of unclaimed benefits;

2004: A proposal was made to provide for the establishment of a central unclaimed benefit fund during 2004 which did not come to fruition;

2006: The PF Act was amended, which required all funds to submit annual financial statements. Prior to this amendment, there was no provision in the annual financial statements to disclose membership and the assets relating to unclaimed benefits separately;

2007: The registrar issued PF Circular 126 requesting funds to amend their rules to remove any reference that caused unclaimed benefits to revert back to the fund. This practice was in the opinion of the registrar unfair, as the vesting and entitlement of benefits is preserved for the person entitled to it;

2008: The Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2008 amended the Income Tax Act to allow for the establishment of “special purpose” preservation funds to hold unclaimed benefits funds as defined in the PF Act;

2014: The definition of an “unclaimed benefit” was amended, to include a death benefit payable to a beneficiary who was not paid within two years from the date on which the fund became aware of the death of the member; and

2017: Proposed amendments have been made to the PF Act to provide for a central unclaimed retirement benefit fund.