Gay couples need "proof" to benefit from pension fund

The adjudicator said people in same-sex marriages were entitled to their spouse's pension fund if they were nominated in writing by the deceased.

The ruling was made in a case where the surviving partner, Thabo Mlambo (not his real name), took his deceased partner's pension fund administrator to the adjudicator for refusing to pay him the deceased's pension.

Mlambo argued that he was entitled to the pension fund benefits because he had been in a relationship with the deceased, for 29 years. They were living together when he died.

The tribunal received Mlambo's complaint in April 2010 after the AECI Pension Fund informed him that he was not entitled to the pension.

Mlambo contended that he qualified for the pension because he was "an eligible spouse" as defined in the pension fund's rules.

"Further, the complainant submitted that he had been the deceased's life partner since 1984," read the judgment from the adjudicator.

The pension fund adjudicator refused to rule that payment must be made because the deceased person was registered as single at the time of his death and there was no record that that status had changed.

"The fund had no option but to treat the deceased as being single and therefore no spouse's pension accrued to Mlambo," said AECI.

The adjudicator said although the deceased and the complainant had lived together, he was never named in writing, as the beneficiary.

The ruling further said the complainant doesn't satisfy the definition of "an eligible spouse" and therefore cannot receive payment.

The president of the Institute of the Retirement Fund, Zamani Letjane said the application failed because the partner failed to prove his relationship with the deceased.

"This shows that it is important that while you are still alive you should nominate a beneficiary for your retirement fund," said Letjane.

Source: Sowetan via I-Net Bridge