The Public Service Commission (PSC) on Wednesday released a report on a study conducted on the assessment of the management of service terminations and pension pay-outs in the Public Service.
The study was conducted as a result of the numerous complaints that the PSC received from retirees and beneficiaries of deceased pensioners regarding delays in the processing of pension pay-outs and other related benefits by employer departments and the Government Pension Administration Agency (GPAA). The complaints were mostly centred around non-adherence to timeframes set for pension pay-outs after the submission of all necessary documentation. Speaking on SA Fm’s AM Live, PSC Commissioner Lulu Sizani said that government departments needed to play a more central role in payment of pensions. She indicated that late pension pay-outs happened firstly when families did not fill out forms for deceased employees and secondly because there was poor follow-up from the side of the department concerned. However, the PSC insisted that the problem was not widespread — a position challenged by labour federation Cosatu, which said the problems were more commonplace.
- Read the PSC’s statement on the findings of its study at PSC online
- View the AM Live interview and read ‘PSC gives clarity on delays in state pension pay-outs’, at SABC News
- Read too, PSC finds delays of up to 10 years paying out pensions, at BDLive
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