South Africans are owed R90 billion and it is easy to check if you can get money

South African retirement fund members are owed R90 billion in unclaimed benefits, even members stretching as far back as 1981.

Positively, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has made it easier than ever to check whether you are one of the members with unclaimed benefits.

Unclaimed benefits, under the Pension Funds Act, are lump-sum or pension benefits due to a retirement fund member or their beneficiaries.

To be considered “unclaimed”, this lump sum or benefit has to have been unclaimed for more than 24 months from the date it became due for payment or claiming.

These benefits should be distinguished from non-compliance with Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act.

This section requires employers to pay employee and company retirement contributions directly into a fund’s account within seven days of the month-end. 

Failing to comply with this section is considered a legal and criminal offence. The FSCA revealed in July that South Africa has experienced widespread non-compliance with this section.

It said 6,064 employers have been defaulting on their payments to retirement funds on behalf of their employees, with total arrears of R8.33 billion.

This is separate from South Africa’s unclaimed benefits, which do not arise due to non-compliance with the Pension Funds Act.

Instead, unclaimed benefits are valid, computed benefits that retirement funds hold because they cannot trace or locate the rightful beneficiaries after 24 months.

It has become a widespread issue across South Africa’s retirement fund industry, with the FSCA revealing in June 2026 that unclaimed benefits are valued at R90 billion.

Notably, this is despite the FSCA’s intensive efforts over the past few years to raise awareness and encourage South Africans to check whether they are owed anything.

Between 2010 and 2019, the FSCA paid R34.4 billion in unclaimed benefits to 1.2 million members, yet the current figure still stands at R90 billion.

Check if you are owed money

The FSCA has made it as easy as possible for South Africans to check whether they have unclaimed benefits.

The Registrar of Pension Funds has a central database on the FSCA website to assist South Africans in ascertaining if there are any unclaimed benefits due to them.

South Africans can input basic information into the FSCA’s Unclaimed Benefits Search Engine to see whether there is a match.

If there is a successful match, the enquirer is provided with the contact details of the relevant fund or administrator.

From there, the enquirer will have to contact the fund directly and follow their respective claims process to prove a valid claim.

Aside from the search engine, South Africans can also submit an enquiry to the FSCA directly, via email, SMS, fax, phone call, written letter or in person at the regulator’s Pretoria office.

Besides the FSCA, other organisations have also been encouraging South Africans to check whether they are among those with unclaimed benefits.

Standard Bank said in October 2025 that its unclaimed benefits initiative has successfully reunited clients with R100 million that was owed to them.

The payments ranged from as little as R100 to R100 million. Standard Bank said the majority of the recovered funds were unpaid pension claims.

Standard Bank’s initiative is in partnership with Reunyte, a company solely dedicated to reuniting South Africans with their unclaimed benefits.

To date, Reunyte has paid out R140.85 million to 28,156 pension fund members. It also has partnerships with other major financial institutions, such as FNB.

Reunyte’s stakeholders include a team of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and experts spanning fields from finance and banking to technology innovation. 

Its biggest investors include South Africa’s former deputy Finance Minister and MTN chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, and former FNB CEO and Bank Zero founder, Michael Jordaan.

The table below shows all the ways South Africans can verify if they have unclaimed benefits through the FSCA.