A former housekeeper who worked for her employer for 31 years has secured a R1.89 million retirement annuity death benefit after the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator dismissed an executor's challenge to the payout.
The executor of the deceased estate had complained that the Allan Gray Retirement Annuity Fund incorrectly allocated the full death benefit of R1 890 631.03 to the former employee. She argued that the benefit should either have been paid to the estate or shared with the housekeeper.
According to the determination, the housekeeper retired before the deceased passed away but continued receiving R3,500 a month from her former employer to assist with groceries and other living expenses.
The deceased died in September, 2024. Her husband died less than two weeks later, on 3 October 2024. Their wills each left the housekeeper R200,000, while the executor continued paying the monthly R3 500 stipend after the couple's deaths.
The executor argued that the housekeeper was no longer financially dependent on the deceased after receiving the inheritances. She also contended that the fund should have distributed the benefit under provisions of the Pension Funds Act allowing payment to both dependants and nominees, or to nominees only, because the deceased's husband had been the nominated beneficiary.
