ConCourt rules on pension fund death benefits

IN A LANDMARK judgment, the Constitutional Court ruled that dependency must be assessed based on facts at the time of a pension fund member's death, rather than when distribution decisions are made.

- ZELDA VENTER

Every year, South African retirement funds distribute billions of rands upon the death of their in-service members to persons who were “dependents” of a deceased member.

These benefits are distributed in terms of section 37C of the Pension Funds Act.

This application related to the equitable allocation and distribution of death benefits held within a pension fund.

The Constitutional Court noted that it is particularly important in the context of South Africa's high incidence of employment precariousness and dependency on a single breadwinner.

Pension fund benefits provide much-needed assistance to those left vulnerable in the event of the death of their primary supporter.

In this case, Tshifhiwa Mutsila’s husband died in 2012 of work-related injuries.