In October 2011, the GPAA successfully introduced the Automatic Life Verification (ALV) process. The ALV eliminated the issuing of Life Certificates for the majority of GEPF pensioners.
The ALV process validates a pensioner’s life status in conjunction with the South African Department of Home Affairs (DoHA). Pensioners who are in possession of a valid South African identity document and who also live in South Africa on a full time basis will not receive a Life Certificate from GEPF.
This means that these pensioners are not required to physically visit a Commissioner of Oaths to confirm their life status in order to continue receiving their monthly annuity.
Pensioners living outside of South Africa, as well as those whose status cannot be verified with the Department of Home Affairs, will receive a paper-based Life Verification form which still needs to be completed and certified by a Commissioner of Oaths or similar representative. All pensioners or annuitants receiving the Life Verification form will only receive one form per annum, regardless of the number of benefits they receive.
For those who receive Life Verification forms, the process is very important because it protects GEPF and members from fraud. It does this by proving that pensions are being paid to the right people. The Life Verification forms help keep track of pensioners overseas and ensure that pensions are paid to living people.
To complete the annual Life Verification process, a member needs to do the following:
- Fill in the certificate and make sure that all personal details are correct.
- Have the certificate signed and stamped by a Commissioner of Oaths. A Commissioner of Oaths can be a magistrate, a postmaster, a bank manager, a lawyer, a police officer, a priest or a social worker, if they are registered. Usually the most convenient Commissioner of Oaths is at your nearest police station, which will always have such a person on duty.
- Attach a certified copy of your identity document to the form. This copy should not be more than six months old.
- Post the certificate to the GEPF or hand it in at the nearest GEPF Regional Office.
The GEPF must receive the original document and cannot accept faxes or photocopies.If a member has provideda cell phone number, an SMS will be sent to confirm the successful reinstatement of the certificate.
