A recent dispute over a R8.3 million pension fund death benefit reveals the complexities of recognising permanent life partnerships under South African law, as the Pension Funds Adjudicator weighs the claims of a deceased member's sister against those of his long-term partner.
Before the Pension Funds Adjudicator, a dispute over an R8.3 million pension fund death benefit has highlighted the complexities of recognising permanent life partnerships under South African pension law and the wide discretion afforded to pension fund trustees when distributing death benefits.
The matter arose after a member of the Corporate Selection Umbrella Retirement Fund died in May 2024, leaving a death benefit of R8 330 764.70. What followed was a bitter dispute between the deceased's sister and a woman identified only as "M", whom the fund recognised as his permanent life partner.
At the heart of the case was whether "M" qualified as a legal dependant under section 37C of the Pension Funds Act, and whether the trustees had fairly exercised their discretion when allocating the benefit.
The fund allocated the death benefit as follows:
