The PSPF Beneficiary Nomination Form is a form that members fill in with information and details of their dependents to assist the Fund Trustees in apportioning the benefit of a member in the event of death. The Beneficiary Nomination Form assists in notifying the Fund of a member’s wishes concerning the allocation of his or her Death Benefit on the condition that it is correctly filled, meaning that the member did not leave out legal dependents when making allocations in the form, i.e. legally married spouse(s), biological and legally adopted child below the age of 21 years and a totally disabled child.
The form has the member’s personal information, allocation of nominees, nominated guardian, funeral benefit and signature part. The member’s personal information entails, among other things, the physical address, which assists the Fund in locating members who can no longer be located by the Employer when the Fund does investigations in terms of its payments. On the allocation of nominees, the Fund emphasises on the nomination of firstly legal dependants and then factual dependents.
On the guardian page, the Fund requires active members to nominate two people who will be guardians to any child / children of the member in the event of death. The nominated persons will be entitled to manage the benefits of the children. The main objective of the guardian page is to protect the allocated share of a minor dependent which is intended to provide for the deceased member’s dependent’s financial security.
In choosing a guardian, the Fund advises a member to make sure that he or she nominates a person who will be competent to ethically manage the funds for the child’s benefit and not embezzle the allocated share for self-gain.
Some guardians to deceased members’ minor children are known to misuse and compromise funds given to them to manage on behalf of the child / children. In most cases, these have been substantial amounts of money, which, if managed properly, would cater for the minor child / children to live well even long after the demise of a member. The nomination of a trustworthy person addresses such problems.
Worth noting is that a minor child / children need protection against a person who claims to have his or her interests at heart while, in actual fact that person just wants to misuse the money. It is equally important for nominated guardians to note that after attaining the age of majority, the child beneficiary has a right to seek a full account of his or her benefits i.e. the lump sum amount disbursements or payments made over time, annuities and all other relevant information which means that they will be held accountable for every transaction made regarding the child’s benefits. Guardians should therefore, ensure that the child’s funds are used appropriately for them to give a satisfactory account.
Challenges of an absent Beneficiary Nomination Form
The first challenge the Fund faces is the absence of a correctly filled Beneficiary Nomination Form or updated one. In this case, the Fund must rely on the next of kin meeting, which is a long process because it will still have to do its independent investigations to ascertain the information received at the meeting before the actual distribution.
The second challenge is the non-registering of children’s birth certificates and marriage certificates and the failure to obtain divorce or dissolution of marriage court orders or documents from the relevant traditional authorities such as Umphakatsi or Ndabazabantu. The Fund is governed by laws that require the submission of authentic documentation; thus, even if it can acknowledge the facts given during the next of kin meetings, legal documentation must still be presented for filing and archiving. The process of sourcing the legal documents when the principal member is deceased becomes cumbersome, delaying payment of the pension benefits by the Fund, thus inconveniencing the dependents and the Fund’s service delivery.
The Fund would like to appeal to its members to ensure they correctly fill in and periodically update their Beneficiary Nomination Forms when needed. Members should also register the birth and marriage certificates of their dependents with the Ministry of Home Affairs and obtain divorce or dissolution of marriage court orders/documents. These measures will assist the Fund in achieving its objective of ensuring that dependents are not destitute once the member has passed on through the speedy payment of pension benefits.