Punish companies that steal pensions

It is all too easy in a country where government corruption pervades society, to forget that business, too, can steal… and do so without caring about the suffering that theft may inflict on people and their families.

What is happening at the moment, according to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), is that 3 262 companies are deducting pension contributions from their employees’ salaries and not paying that money into pension funds.

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It goes without saying that this is illegal in terms of the Pension Funds Act, and this despicable conduct is immoral. At stake is more than R6 billion, says the FSCA, as well as the risk that employees are not covered for injuries.

In addition, pension fund members miss out on the compounded returns that would have been earned on this money – particularly as the list of offenders shows some contributions are in arrears by as much as 20 years.

This is, effectively, stealing the future from the people who work for you – and stealing the future of their families.

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Such conduct is particularly egregious in a country with high levels of poverty and wealth inequality, and where one salary – and one pension – often keeps many others in the extended family alive.

Another possible tragic outcome of the theft of these pension monies – because that is what it is – is that if a pension fund member dies in service and the dues are not fully paid up, an insurer may repudiate the death claim, leaving the surviving family in penury.

We urge the authorities to take the strongest possible action against such delinquent companies – ranging from huge fines to seizures of assets. Consideration must also be given to holding those individuals responsible to account criminally.

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You cannot build a company on the back of theft from your own employees.