Cape Town - As the threat of a third wave of Covid-19 looms over the country, more people are growing concerned about another cycle of financial distress.
Pensioner Pieter Adams, 60, said he has been waiting 19 years for his pension fund to pay out. However, after reaching out to the Weekend Argus, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
Senior communications manager at the Government Pensions Administration Agency Mack Lewele confirmed yesterday that the case will be paid by June.
“Unless there are challenges such as wrong bank accounts etc. PDP (Previously Discriminated Practices) cases are a bit complicated because we have to verify things such as making sure that we pay the right person and the periods claimed correspond with our records. If there are any challenges we will contact the client directly but at this point it looks as if all is okay,” said Lewele.
After receiving the news, Adams said that he felt like a burden was lifted off his shoulders.
“I applied for a pension from 1984 until 1986. I filled in the necessary forms in 1998 and in 2010 I filled in another form for the payment. Every time I phone the toll-free number at Pretoria, the agent told me the same story they've been telling me over the years, that there is no payout date.”
“It took forever, from 1998 is a very long time and I don't know on what basis they held my money back because it’s not as if it was millions of rands.”
“With the third wave approaching I became more worried because I didn't know if I would ever get the chance to see that money. I was so afraid that I might pass on and never receive those funds,” said Adams.
In another case, beauty therapist Collet Mbaki has never been more concerned with her finances than she is right now. She said that she is getting impatient because her UIF payout is in limbo and there has been no contact about her funds since last year.
“During the first wave, my family and I suffered a lot. I started the process in June 2020, when our business had to completely shut down for good due to the pandemic. I submitted all the necessary documentation and when I followed up on it, at first there was nothing. Thankfully, after my second attempted I received something. After that, I knew I was supposed to be getting money every month but nothing came. I was sent from pillar to post without getting constructive responses.
“We were definitely not prepared for the second wave and now with the third wave coming, more excuses will follow because as a foreign national, things are not the same. People tend to easily take advantage of the fact that we do not know much of the law and our rights,” she added.
“I fear that with the threat of the third wave, my family and I will have to go through to the same issues we experienced the first time. Nobody explains what the hold up is, nobody seems to care even though we pay tax and UIF every month,” said Mbaki.
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) spokesperson Makhosonke Buthelezi said that the reasons for delays vary but mostly it is because vast amounts of employees are not declared with the fund, and the second major problem is failed bank verifications.
“In both instances, communication is sent to employers about the reasons, and we’ve even created a declarations functionality on the Ters (Temporary Employee Relief Scheme) system to enable employers to declare their employees, and made efforts, through our call centre to contact applicants who have failed bank verification.”
“UIF Ters applications are done online and the system has been there since the hard lockdown. So, outstanding claims are processed and paid as and when the information we need is submitted or bank accounts are positively verified,” said Buthelezi.
He added that foreigners receive the same treatment and are catered for like anybody else in our processes as long as they satisfy all the requirements.
Weekend Argus