Adjudicator rules for pensioner who went 200 days without his pension

THE Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) has described the Motor Industry Provident Fund’s behaviour as “reprehensible” for failing to pay a pensioner for seven months, blaming it on a bank technical error.

The complainant was a member of the Motor Industry Provident Fund from July 1997 until his retirement. He was in receipt of a monthly pension from the fund from March 2017.

He submitted that he did not receive his monthly pension from the fund for August 2024 to February 2025. He provided proof of his bank account and submitted that the information was previously provided to the fund.

The fund submitted that in August 2024, the monthly payment was rejected due to a technical error with the member’s bank account, which resulted in missed payments for August 2024 to February 2025.

The fund said it attempted to backpay the missed payments of R72,394. However, the payment was rejected by his bank. The fund required a confirmation letter from the bank in order for the back payment to be processed.

In October 2025, the fund was provided with proof of the member’s bank details. A month later, the fund stated that it would follow up on the payment, but no further response was received, Mogashoa noted. In a determination, the PFA said the pensioner was being prejudiced by the fund’s failure to resolve the matter.

The PFA found the fund’s behaviour “reprehensible”. Therefore, in addition to paying the member back payment of R72,394, as well as interest, the fund was ordered to pay compensation in the amount of R5,000 for failing to attend to the complaint timeously and the resultant inconvenience.

During the 2024/2025 financial year, the PFA received 10,331 new complaints (9,177 in the previous year) and disposed of a total of 10,100 complaints.

Lebogang Mogashoa, who was recently appointed PFA, urged every member of a pension fund to be aware of the existence of the office, as well as how and when to lodge a complaint if something goes wrong.

The adjudicator's office investigates and determines complaints of abuse of power and disputes of fact or law. It also probes employer dereliction of duty in respect of pension funds.

For general enquiries or to lodge a complaint, visit www.pfa.org.za, call 012 346 1738, or Toll Free 0800 74 4444, or email Enquiries@pfa.org.za.

Cape Times