BENEFICIARY FORM
You can get your nomination of beneficiary forms from your human resources department or payroll office., or click here.

The trustees have a legal duty to identify, trace and contact all qualifying dependants and nominated beneficiaries when a member of a retirement fund dies. In terms of Section 37C of the Pension Funds Act the trustees then take into account relevant circumstances when dividing your lump sum death benefit.

If you have not completed or updated a nomination of beneficiaries form then your family members are difficult to contact and there can be a delay of up to 12 months before your benefits are paid out – and this at a time when your family is most in need of financial assistance.

It is vital to keep your nomination of beneficiaries form updated by changing it whenever your personal circumstances change. For example: marriage, divorce or the birth of a child.

The Nomination of Beneficiaries form acts as guide for the trustees:

• Trustees are not compelled to distribute the death benefit according to this form – it only shows them what your preferences are.
• The final decision of who receives the benefit lies with the trustees. They still have the authority to override these wishes and distribute the benefit in a way that they feel is more fair based on specific circumstances.
• Any Will or Testament has no effect on the distribution of your death benefit.
• If you don’t fill in the names of people who are financially dependent on you, it will become the trustees’ duty later on to make sure that they get a portion of your death benefit, whether you wanted them to or not.
• If you have a dependant you wouldn’t like to get a part of the death benefit, you still need to name them on your nomination of beneficiaries form. Put 0% next to their name and give a valid reason why they shouldn’t get any of the benefits.