Divorcees the winners in amendment to govt pensions act

Soon there will be no headaches for divorcees who want to claim their share from the pension of former partners who are members of Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) as a non-acrimonious way has been established to split the money and avoid delays.

Amendments to the Government Employees Pension Act have been passed under the Finance Matters Bill by parliament and later the National Council of Provinces.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has welcomed the change because it is important the GEPF provides for a fair and clean settlement to both parties in a timeous manner.

In the submission, Cosatu parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said that divorce settlements were frequently protracted and the settlement of the separation of assets delayed.

“This has a negative impact on spouses … wives and children in particular.

“This amendment will help to speed up such processes and seek to make them less acrimonious.”

The legislation must be signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa before it becomes law.

The amendment of section 24 (A) of the Government Employees Pension Law (1996) has replaced the divorce debt approach with a pensionable service reduction approach.

This means the benefits due to a GEPF member would be decreased in terms of pensionable years, taking into account the pension interests of the former spouse resulting from a decree of divorce or for the dissolution of a customary marriage.

Parks said the law will now focus on the amount of money needed to pay an ex-spouse from the GEPF funds.

“So, for example, if they have 10 years of pension built up in the GEPF and they now need to split 50% of their assets with the partner, they would then need to split half their pension.

“The Bill will provide for the GEPF member to do that splitting immediately. This is to avoid delaying the separation of assets or building up debt or additional interest incurred,” Parks said.

A GEPF member would be required to decide whether to separate the payment immediately upon divorce or not. The member will need to inform the GEPF within 12 months of the Bill coming into effect what that choice is.

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