Pension funds must comply with PFA information requests, says Muvhango Lukhaimane

A PENSION fund is obliged to provide the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) with requested information without obtaining consent from beneficiaries, says Muvhango Lukhaimane, the PFA.

- DIEKETSENG MALEKE

According to Lukhaimane, funds cannot use the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) as an excuse to withhold information from the PFA.

She says that as a public body, as defined in the Act, the PFA has the right to access personal information when performing its duties.

This came to light in a recent determination, where Lukhaimane made it clear that the PFA falls within the definition of a tribunal under POPIA and is permitted to collect personal information when necessary for its investigations.

The issue arose when a fund initially refused to provide its investigation report to the PFA, citing the need to protect beneficiaries' personal details. Only after being reminded that POPIA allows the PFA to process personal information in the exercise of its powers and duties, did the fund comply with the request.

Lukhaimane clarified that, in matters involving death benefits, the PFA’s role is to assess whether the board acted rationally, reasonably, and within the law. “Therefore, a fund cannot hide behind POPIA and bears the onus of demonstrating that it has conducted a proper investigation per section 37C,” she says.

The Financial Services Tribunal further reinforced this point, stating that the PFA should insist on investigation reports to confirm that funds have provided sufficient information to justify their allocations.