Cape Town – The Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) has referred a fund with a “history of unlawfully withholding withdrawal benefits” to the regulator for investigation.
In yet another determination against Oasis Crescent Retirement Fund, Muvhango Lukhaimane said her office had received several complaints against the fund for the unlawful withholding of benefits.
She said despite alerting the fund that withholding of a benefit as a result of a breach of employment contracts was unlawful, the fund had “not refrained from such conduct”.
“Such wilful non-compliance requires regulatory intervention, which would ultimately ensure that members’ interests are not prejudiced by the first respondent’s failure to adhere to the Pension Funds Act and its rules.
“Further, this tribunal can avail to the Financial Services Conduct Authority similar complaints against the fund to assist in its investigation process,” Lukhaimane said.
She was commenting in the wake of two determinations she issued against Oasis Crescent Retirement Fund.
In the first case, the complainant was employed by Oasis Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd from October 2014 until September 2018. She said when she resigned, she elected to transfer her withdrawal benefit.
However, despite several follow-ups, Oasis Crescent Retirement Fund failed to effect it. She had a fund credit of R39 301.
In a second similar complaint, another complainant said that he, too, was in the employ of Oasis Group Holdings, and when he resigned in June 2016, he was not paid his withdrawal benefit.
He did not sign an admission of liability and no judgment was issued against him.
He said he was served with summons which reflected he owed the company R118 945 in respect of recruitment costs.
In arriving at her decision, Lukhaimane said the failure of the complainant to comply with his employment contract –- in respect of his alleged failure to reimburse expenses incurred by his employer on his behalf – did not fall within the ambit of misconduct as contemplated in a section of the pension act.
Therefore withholding of his benefit on these grounds was unlawful, the PFA found.
Oasis Group chief regulatory officer, Nazeem Ebrahim said: “Journalists know about the matter before they know about it. You in the press have it, before we had it – we haven’t been able to study this.”
In responding to the enquiry sent to the fund at 10.40am, Ebrahim said he received the email five minutes before the Cape Times deadline at 5pm.
“I was working hard in Covid-time to see to it that we can afford to pay our salaries to all our employees and when you are in a team, you are not rude to the people around you – by being busy looking at WhatsApp, answering calls and emails,” he said.