The law says you must first send your complaint in writing to the pension fund or to the employer. The pension fund or employer then has 30 days to reply to the complaint. If they don’t reply, or if you are not satisfied with the reply, then you can send an official complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator. Include your letter to the pension fund or employer, and their reply. After you have made a complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator, the adjudicator gives the pension fund 30 days to reply. Once the Adjudicator has received the pension fund’s reply, they will look at the facts and decide who is right. (See How to write a complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator)

The Pension Funds Adjudicator does not deal with government pension funds. If a person who works for the government has got a complaint about a government pension then they must send their complaint to the Public Protector. (See Problem 2: Making a complaint to the Public Protector)

There is no charge to make a complaint with the Pension Funds Adjudicator.

WHO CAN MAKE A COMPLAINT TO THE PENSION FUNDS ADJUDICATOR?

The following people can make a complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator:

• A member or former member of a pension fund
• A beneficiary of a fund or a former beneficiary of a fund (a beneficiary is someone who is written down in your pension fund agreement to get the money from your pension fund, for example, your family if you die)
• An employer who participates in a workplace fund
• A board or board member of a fund
• Any person with an interest in a complaint

TIME LIMITS

You must get your complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator within 3 years of the problem arising.