- Pension Funds Adjudicator determinations have the same legal force as civil judgments under section 30O of the Pension Funds Act.
- The PFA cannot impose sanctions or take further enforcement action against employers once a determination has been issued.
- Members can approach the High Court for a writ of execution after six weeks, provided no application under section 30P has been filed.
The Pension Funds Adjudicator, Lebogang Mogashoa, has explained how members can enforce its determinations when employers fail to comply, saying complainants must approach the High Court to recover money owed to them.
The clarification follows a complaint by former security officer Ndatso Dorah Khenene against Eden Security Services in Bellville, Cape Town. Although the Adjudicator issued a determination in her favour on 9 October 2026, Khenene says her former employer has not complied with the order.
Mogashoa explained that the determinations are legally binding but that the PFA has no further powers to force compliance once an order has been issued.
PFA cannot punish employers who ignore determinations
Section 30O of the Pension Funds Act provides that a determination by the Adjudicator has the same legal force and effect as a civil judgment of the court that would have jurisdiction to hear the matter, he said.
“However, the PFA cannot impose additional sanctions on an employer or compel it to comply after issuing a determination. The Adjudicator’s mandate ceases once a determination has been issued,” Mogashoa said. This means that when an employer or pension fund ignores a determination, the complainant must take steps to enforce it through the courts.
How members can enforce an order
The PFA outlined three main steps that complainants must follow. First, the Adjudicator files the determination with the relevant High Court, after which the complainant can obtain the court-noted determination.
Second, the complainant must allow six weeks to pass. A writ of execution can only be pursued after this period if no application under Section 30P has been filed by an aggrieved party. Third, once the six weeks have expired, the complainant must approach the court for a writ of execution and have it served by the Sheriff.
The Sheriff may then attach the employer’s assets. If necessary, the assets can be sold in execution, with the proceeds used to settle the outstanding debt.
Eden Security owes outstanding pension contributions
Khenene worked as a security officer for Eden Security from 1 June 2023 until 30 November 2025. She was registered as a member of the Private Security Sector Provident Fund from the beginning of her employment.
However, the investigation found that the employer had failed to pay pension contributions for January to December 2024, February to August 2025 and October to November 2025. The fund administrator, Salt Employee Benefits (Pty) Ltd, calculated the outstanding contributions, including late-payment interest, at R17 736.71.
The employer reportedly indicated that it was making arrangements with Bidventure Salt to address the outstanding payments. In his determination, Deputy Pension Funds Adjudicator Naheem Essop found that Eden Security had contravened fund Rules 4.1.1 and 4.1.2, read with Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act.
He ordered the employer to pay R17 736.71 to the provident fund, together with further late-payment interest calculated up to the date of payment.
What the determination ordered
The determination also addressed Khenene’s withdrawal benefit. The fund was ordered to calculate the additional interest and accept her withdrawal claim without requiring the employer’s signature or stamp.
Khenene was required to submit a completed withdrawal claim form, a copy of her identity document and a bank statement not older than three months.
The fund was directed to pay her withdrawal benefit based on her fund credit, together with the further benefit, within two weeks of receiving the outstanding contributions and interest from Eden Security. It was also ordered to provide her with a breakdown of the withdrawal benefit.
The PFA indicated that Khenene had submitted the withdrawal claim forms and received her fund credit but was still awaiting the further benefit payable through the process set out in the determination.
Six-week period expires on 20 November
Khenene has raised concerns that the period she understood to have been allowed for payment has passed without her receiving the outstanding money.
The PFA clarified that the two-week period in the determination applies to the fund’s obligation to pay Khenene after receiving the outstanding contributions and interest from Eden Security. It is not a separate 14-day payment deadline imposed on the employer.
The determination was issued on 9 October 2026. According to the PFA, the six-week period expires on 20 November 2026, meaning Khenene can pursue enforcement through the High Court after that date, provided no application under section 30P has been filed.
The PFA added that if the withdrawal claim forms had not yet been submitted, Khenene would need to do so without delay. The explanation highlights the steps members may still have to take after winning a complaint against an employer or pension fund.
Although the Adjudicator can issue binding determinations, it is ultimately up to the complainant to approach the courts when those determinations are not honoured.
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