A death benefit from a retirement fund is not distributed according to the deceased’s will, and it is not automatically paid to whoever is named on the nomination form. The law puts that decision with the fund’s trustees.
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Who actually handles this
The fund’s board of trustees, acting under section 37C of the Pension Funds Act. This is the single most misunderstood part of South African retirement funds. The trustees must identify everyone who was financially dependent on the deceased and distribute the benefit equitably between them. A nomination form guides that decision but does not bind the trustees, and a death benefit generally falls outside the estate.
What to do, in order
- Report the death to the fund, or to the employer, as soon as possible.
- Give the fund the details of every dependant, including children from previous relationships and anyone the deceased supported. Trustees are obliged to look for them, and an incomplete picture is what causes long delays.
- Submit the death certificate and proof of your relationship to the deceased.
- Expect the process to take months rather than weeks. The trustees must trace and consider all dependants before distributing.
- If you disagree with how the benefit was allocated, complain to the fund first and then to the Adjudicator.
What to have ready before you make contact
- The deceased’s ID number and the fund’s name.
- The death certificate.
- Proof of your relationship to the deceased, and of financial dependency where that applies.
- The details of any other dependants you know of.
- Your own ID and banking details.
Verified fund routes
Every route in this table was taken from the organisation’s own official contact page and checked on 21 August 2026. Contact details change, so confirm on the official site before relying on one for anything urgent.
| What it is for | Contact |
|---|---|
| GEPF toll free call centre | 0800 117 669 |
| GEPF general email | [email protected] |
| Private Security Sector Provident Fund | 010 600 1750 |
| Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council | 011 639 8000 |
If you disagree with the trustees’ allocation
| What it is for | Contact |
|---|---|
| Pension Funds Adjudicator, toll free | 080 074 4444 |
| Pension Funds Adjudicator switchboard | 012 748 4000 |
| Pension Funds Adjudicator, alternate | 012 346 1738 |
| Pension Funds Adjudicator enquiries email | [email protected] |
Fund, administrator, employer: who holds what
- The fund holds your money. It is a separate legal entity registered under the Pension Funds Act and run by a board of trustees, and it survives the employer closing, being sold or being renamed.
- The administrator runs the fund’s day-to-day work under contract: member records, claims and the call centre. GEPF is administered by the GPAA; many private funds are administered by Alexforbes, Sanlam or Momentum. One administrator services many funds, which is why it needs the fund’s name to find you, not just your ID number.
- Your employer pays contributions over and certifies your exit. This is where most delayed claims actually sit, and it is the cheapest thing to check first.
- The trustees make the decisions the law reserves for them, including how a death benefit is distributed. Neither the administrator nor the employer makes that call.
- The Pension Funds Adjudicator resolves complaints against funds free of charge, and its determinations bind the fund. The FSCA regulates funds and runs a free public search for unclaimed benefits.
Your benefit statement names both the fund and the administrator, and carries your member number. Those three pieces of information answer most of what follows, and without the fund’s name an administrator often cannot locate you at all.
Common mistakes that cost time
- Assuming the nomination form decides it. It is a guide to the trustees, not an instruction they must follow.
- Assuming the will decides it. A death benefit under section 37C generally does not form part of the estate.
- Not disclosing other dependants. The trustees must find them anyway, and concealment delays everyone’s payment.
- Expecting payment within weeks. The trustees’ duty to identify dependants takes time, and rushing it is not lawful.
The scam to watch for
Be careful with anyone who offers, for a fee, to make a death benefit pay out faster or to secure a larger share. The allocation is a trustee decision made under statute, and no intermediary can influence it. Grieving families are targeted precisely because the process is slow and poorly understood.
If it is not resolved
The Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator resolves complaints against retirement funds, free of charge to the complainant, and its determinations are legally binding on the fund. It will not take a complaint that has not been put to the fund first, so lodge with the fund, keep the reference number, and give it a reasonable opportunity to respond before approaching the Adjudicator.
Escalation works on evidence. Keep a short written log of every contact: the date, the channel you used, the name of the person you spoke to and the reference number you were given. Every formal complaints process asks for exactly that history, and having it ready is usually the difference between a fast resolution and starting over.
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Frequently asked questions
I am named on the nomination form. Is the money mine?
Not automatically. The trustees must consider all financial dependants and may allocate differently. The form is evidence of the deceased’s wishes, not a binding instruction.
Why is it taking so long?
The trustees have a legal duty to identify every dependant before distributing. That search is what takes the time, and a fund that paid out quickly without doing it would be acting unlawfully.
Does the death benefit form part of the estate?
Generally not. A benefit distributed under section 37C falls outside the estate, which is why the executor does not control it.
The contact routes on this page were checked against each organisation’s official source on 21 August 2026. Where a detail has changed, the official source is always the authority.