Spouses not automatically entitled to pension death benefits, rules Pension Funds Adjudicator

MARRIAGE alone does not automatically qualify a spouse to receive a death benefit – financial dependency on the fund member is a critical point to consider in allocating the death benefit.

This was the gist of a determination by the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) following a complaint by a customary wife that she was excluded from the allocation of her husband’s death benefit.

The wife complained that the Eskom Pension And Provident Fund had not considered her for a share of the death benefit. Upon the death of the deceased on 19 July 2023, a lumpsum death benefit of R882 984  became available for allocation to his beneficiaries.

The board of management of the fund resolved to allocate the death benefit as follows: 18% to a 51-year-old life partner; 30% to a son in the first household; 25% to a daughter in the second household; and 9% to each of three daughters from the third household.

The complainant submitted she was customarily married to the deceased until 2021, when she left her matrimonial home. She said the divorce was still pending.  

She said the fund advised her that the deceased did not maintain her at the date of his death, therefore, she was not entitled to a portion of the death benefit. However, she submitted that she was married to the deceased at the date of his death and was not his girlfriend. Therefore, she was entitled to a portion of the death benefit.

In its response, the fund submitted that its rules provide that a widow’s pension is payable to multiple spouses. Where the deceased is survived by more than one spouse, each spouse is allocated an equal share of 60% of the pension the deceased would have been entitled to at retirement.

The fund stated that at the time of the investigation, the customary wife had indicated that she and the deceased were in the process of a divorce and that she was not residing with him at the date of his death. Further, she was not dependent on the deceased for maintenance, and he only supported their child. 

The fund submitted that at the time of the investigation, the customary wife did not qualify as a spouse in terms of the rules of the fund. 

On June 4, 2025, the fund received a copy of the customary wife’s marriage certificate, which was registered posthumously. Accordingly, the customary wife qualified for a monthly spouse’s pension by virtue of having obtained a marriage certificate. Thus, she was receiving a monthly spouse’s pension of R4 302.49. 

The fund submitted that the marriage did not entitle a spouse to 50% of any portion of the death benefit. Therefore, even though the complainant obtained a marriage certificate, this did not entitle her to a share of the death benefit. 

In a determination, the PFA said marriage was not a decisive factor in the allocation of the death benefit, unlike for the receipt of the spouse’s pension. 

“The extent to which a dependant was dependent on the deceased is a significant factor to consider by the board when allocating the death benefit.

“The deceased and the customary wife had separated and had not resided together since 2021. She was also removed as a beneficiary from his medical aid. Further, she indicated to the fund that she was not financially dependent on the deceased at the date of his death. 

“Thus, although the complainant was customarily married to the deceased, she was not financially dependent on him at the date of his death. Therefore, she was not entitled to a portion of the death benefit,” the PFA said.

In dismissing the complaint, the PFA was satisfied that the death benefit was allocated properly to the dependants of the deceased and there was no reason to set aside the board’s decision.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE