Death Benefit

Death benefit for Active Members and Disability Members only

If you die while you are still employed by the company, or you are a disability member who receives a disability income benefit from the company’s disability arrangement and a member of the Fund, the Fund will pay your dependants and/or beneficiaries a benefit equal to the following amount:

 
This benefit is made up of life cover and your Fund Value.

These dependants/beneficiaries are family or people that you support every month by giving them money. The Trustees of the Fund need to know who to pay these benefits to.

In the case of a disability member, your basic salary for the purposes of this calculation will be a weighted average of your salary while you were an active member and your disability salary.

How are death benefits distributed?

It is important to know that there are very strict guidelines about whom the benefit will be paid to. 

When allocating your death benefit, the Trustees will consider your beneficiaries and the requirements of the Pension Funds Act.

Your beneficiaries can be divided into two groups: 

How and to whom will my death benefit be distributed?

Because the Trustees are legally obliged to use their discretion, and ensure that all your financial dependants are taken care of, it is important that you provide them with as much information as possible. 

Active members must complete and keep updated their nomination of beneficiaries on their HR Connect Employee Self Service profile. 

Disability and Deferred Members must complete a Nomination of Beneficiary Form. It is important that you update your nomination whenever you go through a big life event, such as marriage, the birth of a child, etc. 

This will also help the Trustees to make any payments to your loved ones as soon as possible after your death.

If you do not update your nominations, the payment of your death benefit can be delayed while the Fund investigates, and such a delay in the payment of your death benefit puts a financial strain on your family you leave behind.

Please note it is important to note that death benefits from the Fund do not form part of your estate and, consequently, cannot be distributed in terms of your last will and testament.

If you have no dependants, you still need to complete the Nomination of Beneficiary Form. Although you will not list any dependants, you should indicate who your nominated beneficiaries are, i.e. the person or people whom you would like to nominate as beneficiaries to share in your death benefit, but who are not legal or factual dependants. Only people nominated can be considered as nominated beneficiaries. However, any deficit in your estate has to be settled before the death benefit can be paid out to your nominees. 

If the Trustees do not become aware of (or cannot trace) any dependants within 12 months of your death and you have also not nominated a beneficiary, your benefit will be paid to your estate.