The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) adheres to strict regulations governing its financial liability to members, beneficiaries and pensioners, as well as its financial soundness. There are very strict rules governing how benefits from the GEPF must be paid and distributed. These rules are spelled out in the Government Employees Pension Law. 

The pension industry as a whole is faced with unclaimed benefits and GEPF is no exception. Unclaimed benefits refer to all cases where more than 24 months have lapsed since an identified benefit became legally payable but, due to a lack of information from the beneficiary, employer or the member, the payment cannot be successfully effected. The benefits remain in the fund until claimants come forward. 

Further to GEPF’s Principal Executive Officer, Abel Sithole, appearing at the Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education and Training, GEPF would like to re-iterate the funds in its care are only intended for the benefit of its members, pensioners and beneficiaries only as currently stated in the GEP Law and Rules. 

In terms of the current law of the land, the GEPF Law and rules, these funds will remain in the Fund as unclaimed until the member or beneficiary has been traced and cannot be used for funding higher education or any other initiative.