- A provident fund paid out a R3.5 million death benefit to the deceased’s children and girlfriend after confirming they depended on him financially.
- The deceased’s estranged wife received nothing as she could not prove he supported her financially.
- The Financial Services Tribunal confirmed that pension funds must distribute death benefits in accordance with proven dependency and fairness, as required by the Pension Funds Act.
The children and girlfriend of a deceased provident fund member have secured the full benefit of a R3.5 million pension payout after the Financial Services Tribunal upheld a decision excluding the man’s estranged wife from any share of the money.
The ruling centred on the death of Isack Bafana Ndlangamandla, whose provident fund benefit amounted to R3 521 416.44 after tax.
Following an investigation into his dependents, the Becsa Provident Fund distributed the money among his children and girlfriend after concluding that they were financially dependent on him at the time of his death.
His daughter Nokuthula Marcia Ndlangamandla received 15% of the benefit, while Thembelihle Mzila and Slindile Mlangeni each received 22.5%. Mafate Mabule received 25%, and the deceased’s girlfriend, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, received 15%.
Nomsa Esther Ndlangamandla, the deceased’s estranged wife, was excluded entirely from the allocation despite arguing that she remained financially dependent on him. She later challenged the decision before the Pension Funds Adjudicator and then the Financial Services Tribunal.
Why the children and girlfriend qualified
The case turned on one central issue. The fund had to determine who could prove actual financial dependency on the deceased.
The fund told the tribunal that the deceased’s girlfriend had lived with him from June 2022 until his death and had provided bank statements showing financial support from him.
The fund accepted that they shared a household and household responsibilities, which qualified her as a factual dependant under the Pension Funds Act. The children were also recognised as dependants entitled to benefit from the allocation.
By contrast, Ndlangamandla told the tribunal that although she and the deceased did not live together, he supported her with groceries and cash payments and that she would visit him on weekends or during periods when she was off work.
However, she could not provide bank statements or other documentary evidence of ongoing financial support from the deceased. That absence of evidence proved fatal to her challenge.
The tribunal accepted that the marriage between Ndlangamandla and the deceased had been validly registered posthumously, but found that marriage alone did not automatically entitle a person to receive a share of a pension death benefit.
Dependency outweighs relationship labels
The tribunal explained that pension funds are required by section 37C of the Pension Funds Act to investigate all dependents and distribute benefits in a manner considered fair and equitable.
This means trustees must look beyond labels such as wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, or nominee and instead examine actual financial dependency.
In its ruling, the tribunal said, “The Fund is enjoined to investigate and ensure an equitable allocation of a death benefit to dependents.”
The tribunal also said, “The factors to be considered by the Fund are those that exist and are apparent when the discretion is to be exercised.”
Among the factors pension funds must consider are the relationship with the deceased, age of dependants, extent of dependency, future earning potential, and the amount available for distribution.
The tribunal found that the fund properly considered relevant information and exercised its discretion lawfully when allocating the benefit to the children and the girlfriend.
“In the absence of any proof of dependency by the Applicant, the Fund could not come to any other allocation decision,” the tribunal said.
The application for reconsideration was dismissed, leaving the allocation of the R3.5 million death benefit unchanged.
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