An estranged wife took the Pension Fund Adjudicator (PFA) to the Financial Services Tribunal (FST) after she was excluded from her late husband's death benefit.
Pamela Xoliswa Mate was married to Ntaba Mate, who died in December 2022.
He was a member of Old Mutual Superfund Provident Fund, and after his death, five beneficiaries were identified. His wife, his long-term girlfriend Mpumelelo Dameni, two children from his marriage, and his sister.
However, in a controversial move, Old Mutual allocated 65% of the death benefit to Dameni, leaving the remaining portion to the two children, effectively excluding both Mate and the sister from the distribution.
Feeling unjustly excluded, Pamela Mate sought relief at the PFA, only to find her complaint dismissed after the adjudicator concluded that Old Mutual had acted within its rights and assessed all relevant factors in the distribution.
Undeterred, Mate escalated her fight to the FST, arguing that Old Mutual overlooked her two children, who were still financially dependent on her and the deceased. In her submission, she pointed out that Dameni, now 60 years of age, was eligible for government pension, and it was fundamentally unfair for her to receive the bulk of the benefit as none of the other dependents qualified for state support.
The FST looked at the reasons that influenced Old Mutual when allocating the funds. It was noted that Mate and her husband had been separated for several years and did not live in the same house at the time of his death.
Mate was employed and has no disability or illness that could prevent her from not being able to work in the future. Even though she was married to the deceased, she was not dependent on him.
It was mentioned that when Dameni was recognised as one of the beneficiaries, it didn't automatically give her the right to receive a portion from the death benefit because dependency is decided by several factors, including financial dependency on the deceased before death.
Regarding Dameni's circumstances, investigations revealed that she was in a relationship with the deceased for more than 15 years, and they lived together until his death. She was unemployed and fully dependent on the deceased.
Moreover, Old Mutual said the death benefit was not sufficient to cater for the current and possible future financial needs of all the dependents.
After considering all submissions, the FST said it had no legal basis to interfere with the determination made by the PFA.
The application was dismissed.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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