A former housekeeper who worked for her employer for 31 years has secured a R1.9 million retirement fund death benefit after the Pension Funds Adjudicator dismissed an executor's challenge. The ruling reinforces the protection afforded to financial dependants under South Africa's Pension Funds Act.
The executor of a deceased woman's estate has failed in an attempt to overturn the award of almost R1.9 million in retirement fund death benefits to the woman's former housekeeper, who served the family faithfully for 31 years and was regarded as a daughter.
In a significant ruling, the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator upheld the allocation of the entire death benefit of R1 890 631.03 from the Allan Gray Retirement Annuity Fund to the former employee, despite finding that the fund's legal reasoning in reaching its decision was flawed.
The dispute arose after the executor argued that the retirement fund had incorrectly classified the former housekeeper as the sole dependant of the deceased. She maintained that the benefit should either have been paid into the deceased estate or shared between the estate and the housekeeper.
According to the determination, the housekeeper worked for the deceased for more than three decades before retiring. Even after her retirement, the deceased continued paying her R3 500 a month to assist with groceries and other living expenses.
