Retired Sanlam employee loses R1 million pension claim in tribunal ruling.
A retired Sanlam employee has failed in his attempt to hold the Sanlam Umbrella Provident Fund liable for losses he claimed were caused by delays in the payment of his retirement benefits, after the Financial Services Tribunal upheld a ruling by the Pension Fund Adjudicator.
The tribunal dismissed an application by A Van Wyk, who sought reconsideration of a determination that found the fund had acted lawfully and in accordance with its rules when processing his retirement payout.
Van Wyk, who worked for Sanlam Life Insurance Limited from February 1989 until his retirement end March 2025, was a member of the Sanlam Umbrella Provident Fund during his employment. Following his retirement, he received a lump-sum payment of R550,000 in April 2025, while the remaining R16.56 million was transferred to Allan Gray Life Limited to purchase a life annuity.
The dispute centred on a 20-day period between the disinvestment of Van Wyk’s retirement funds and the eventual payment of the benefits. Van Wyk argued that his retirement savings had been disinvested on April 9,2025 but were only paid out on April 29, 2025. He claimed that market fluctuations during that period reduced the value of his retirement benefit, causing losses of between R600,000 and R1 million.
