- All employees are entitled to an annual benefit statement from their provident fund.
- A provident fund pays benefits in cash at retirement, whereas a pension fund pays a third of benefits at retirement, with the rest paid throughout the lifetime of each member.
- An employee and his or her employer must both complete a withdrawal form in order to claim benefits.
- If a pension or provident fund member dies, the death benefit is paid to his or her financial dependants, such as a spouse and/or children or beneficiaries.
- By law employers must pay across contributions deducted from employees to the provident fund on a monthly basis. When contributions to the Fund are outstanding for 60 days, members of the Fund will be notified via sms. After 90 days the employer is reported to the Financial Services Board and a criminal case is made at the SAPS. Employers are also required to pay late interest on the contributions paid late to the Fund.
- Though still required to contribute to the fund, for the most part employers cannot take deductions from employees who are on unpaid leave.
- A member has the right to lodge a complaint with the Pensions Funds Adjudicator (PFA) if an employer deducts contributions but doesn’t pay the monies over to the fund or to the administrator of the fund. In these cases, prior to lodging a complaint at the PFA, you are requested to submit a complaint to contractcleaning@nbc.co.za to assist in resolving the complaint.
- A claim can be made against a fund member for maintenance owed and for future maintenance which will become payable by a member in terms of a maintenance order.
Internal complaints procedure
In the event that you have a complaint which you want to raise, kindly submit the complaint to the Legal and Compliance Liaison Officer at compliance@nbc.co.za. Should the complaint not be resolved within 30 days, you have the right to refer the complaint to the PFA.
What can the Pension Fund Adjudicator do?
The Pensions Fund Adjudicator can make a determination or order against an employer or an administrator of the Fund, forcing them to comply with the Pension Funds Act and compensate the member for any loss they have incurred. Any person or company who contravenes the Act could be penalised and fined. You can contact the PFA at Tel: 012 346 1738/ 012 748 4000.
