Moneyweb reports that the SA Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) provident fund has been reprimanded by the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) for paying out a member’s withdrawal benefit without his consent and for acting contrary to both the rules of the fund and the Pension Funds Act.

The member complained to the adjudicator, Muvhango Lukhaimane, that the Saccawu National Provident Fund ignored his request to transfer his benefit into an annuity account. In response, the fund claimed the member had contacted its call centre and requested that his full benefit be paid to him in cash. However, when asked by Lukhaimane to produce a recording of the call or a completed withdrawal claim form, the fund was unable to do so. The complainant, ,who had been employed by Pick n Pay Retailers from December 2017 to November 2023, received a withdrawal benefit of R23,322.36 on 2 February 2025, while R30,000 was paid into a retirement annuity on the same date. But, he had asked for his full benefit to be transferred into an annuity account and did not request a withdrawal benefit.

In her ruling, Lukhaimane criticised the fund’s handling of the member’s withdrawal benefit, finding that it had failed to prove that the complainant had authorised the cash payment. She directed the complainant to choose how he wanted his benefit paid and to notify the fund accordingly. Should he opt for a transfer to another retirement vehicle, he must refund the cash amount previously paid. The PFA also ordered the fund to liaise with the SA Revenue Service to reverse the tax directive and apply for a revised one based on the complainant’s election.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Moneyweb
• Read too, Pension fund faces backlash for ignoring member's withdrawal instructions, at The Mercury

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