The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) said its member benefits will not be impacted by the lower value of its investments arising out of the Middle East conflict
The Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) said Monday it remains in a sound financial position with a funding level of 119% and will continue to meet its financial obligations to its members and pensioners.
The GEPF said in a statement in response to reports that the Fund had experienced a decline of R200 billion as a result of the Israel-US-Iran conflict, that it is not unusual for market values to decline during major geopolitical events, like an outbreak of war, pandemics, or other global events, due to sudden market-wide asset devaluations driven by investor panic, rising inflation, and spiking energy costs.
“The GEPF has been here before, where its market value has been affected by market shocks, but it has subsequently always recovered all its losses, even surpassing its market value prior to the declines,” the GEPF said.
“This was the case during the great recession of 2008 as well as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. South African markets are therefore susceptible to global market shocks,” it said.
