Millions of South Africans are owed R48 billion – check if you can get money

Robin Hood, a technology-driven solution for unclaimed benefits, makes it easier for South Africans to check if they are owed unclaimed pension benefits.

Unclaimed assets generally refer to any asset due to a person by a financial institution that remains unpaid or unclaimed.

More specifically, it means assets the client forgot about or for which the client’s heirs and beneficiaries are unaware they could claim.

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said financial institutions hold an estimated R88.56 billion in unclaimed assets.

A large portion of the total is unclaimed pension benefits, estimated at R48 billion, owed to over 4.5 million South Africans.

Robin Hood, a digital platform developed in partnership with Standard Bank’s OneHub, makes it easy for clients to check if they are owed unclaimed assets.

Robin Hood uses technology to efficiently and cost-effectively trace, verify, and distribute unclaimed assets to beneficiaries.

The platform empowers people with small balances previously considered uneconomical to resolve.

“By working with pension fund administrators and corporate institutions, we transformed the process of reconnecting unclaimed assets with their owners,” Robin Hood said.

“Through technology and scale, Robin Hood makes it possible to return even the smallest benefits to beneficiaries,” said Robin Hood CEO Rowan Gordon.

“We are partnering with various administrators and corporate institutions like Liberty, who are already piloting this solution to address their unclaimed pension benefits.”

He said automating and streamlining the process can reduce the administrative burden and bring much-needed relief to individuals.

“Some clients are owed a few thousand rands, while others have large amounts of unclaimed benefits,” Standard Bank’s head of digital and eCommerce, Dr Belinda Rathogwa, said.

“By removing the requirement to individually approach funds to submit claims, we are making it easier for clients to get their unclaimed benefits.”

Standard Bank partnered with retirement funds, share schemes, and insurers through its Corporate and Investment Banking division.

These partnerships mean that it expended the benefits that its clients can claim through the company’s banking app.

Standard Bank clients with unclaimed benefits registered with Robin Hood will be notified when they log into the banking app.

Customers who suspect they have unclaimed benefits do not need to contact the bank. Standard Bank will proactively notify clients of unclaimed benefits.

Gordon said unlocking unclaimed benefits could release R90 billion back into the South African economy.

“By prioritising unclaimed benefits, fund administrators could become heroes to many South Africans,” the company said.

It would strengthen trust in corporate institutions, and returning these funds first would ease some of the immediate financial strain on citizens.

Gordon added that returning unclaimed assets could reduce the need for members to withdraw from their current pension savings.

It raises the question of how South Africans can check if they have unclaimed assets and what they must do to claim them.

People who want to check if they can claim money must provide their name, surname, identification number, fund name, and employer name.

If there is a successful match, the person will be provided with the contact details of the fund or administrator.

Here are the ways people can check if they are owed money as part of South Africa’s R88.56 billion in unclaimed assets.