'Is your pension finished?': GEPF clears confusion over Life Certificates in South Africa

The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has clarified why South African pensioners no longer receive Life Certificates.

The fund said it stopped sending manual Life Certificates on October 1 2011, and replaced them with an automatic verification process that checks a pensioner's life status with the Department of Home Affairs.

Life Certificates are documents used by pension funds to confirm that a pensioner is still alive and entitled to continue receiving pension payments.

According to the GEPF, the change does not affect monthly pension payments and means pensioners no longer need to complete annual Life Certificates or visit a Commissioner of Oaths for verification.

"GEPF stopped sending manual Life Certificates to pensioners in South Africa from 1 October 2011. This system was replaced with an automatic process that checks a pensioner’s life status with the South African Department of Home Affairs," the fund said.