Former housekeeper wins R1.8m death benefit after executor's appeal fails

A FORMER housekeeper who worked faithfully for her employer for more than three decades, has been awarded the full R1.8 million death benefit from her late employer's retirement annuity after the office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) dismissed an attempt by the executor of the deceased estate to overturn the payout.

- SINENHLANHLA MASILELA

In a recent determination, the deputy PFA Naheem Essop upheld the allocation of the entire death benefit of R1,890,631.03 to the former employee, finding that although the retirement fund had relied on flawed legal reasoning, the outcome was ultimately correct based on the facts and the purpose of the Pension Funds Act.

The dispute arose after the executor of the deceased woman's estate challenged the decision by the Allan Gray Retirement Annuity Fund to award the full death benefit to the former housekeeper, who had worked for the deceased for 31 years and was regarded as a member of the family.

According to the determination, the former housekeeper retired before the deceased's death but continued to receive a monthly payment of R3 500 from her former employer to assist with groceries and other living expenses. The payments reflected the continued financial support provided by the deceased after the employment relationship had ended.

The deceased died in September 2024. Less than two weeks later, her husband passed away in October 2024.

Both spouses had made provision for the former housekeeper in their wills, each leaving her a bequest of R200 000.