South Africans are owed R89 billion in unclaimed benefits – check if you can get money

South Africans are owed R89 billion in unclaimed benefits, and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) makes it easy to see whether they can claim money.

Unclaimed Benefits is the term used in South Africa to refer to money that belongs to a member, former member, or beneficiary but hasn’t been paid out.

The reason the money is not paid out, typically linked to a retirement or pension fund, is that the fund can’t reach the member.

The problem of reaching a beneficiary can be due to their contact details changing, a job change, or them not realising they had money waiting.

The money is considered unclaimed if it hasn’t been paid out within 24 months of the date on which it legally became due to the member.

This is not limited to one fund or member. A person can qualify for more than one unclaimed benefit from separate asset holders.

This depends on past accounts, policies, or financial products held with those institutions.

The amount of unclaimed benefits owed to South Africans is eye-watering. In 2022, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority reported R88.56 billion in unclaimed assets.

However, good progress has been made in identifying the beneficiaries of unclaimed assets and getting the money to them.

Between 2010 and 2019, R34.3 billion in unclaimed benefits were paid to 1.2 million members across South Africa.

Over the last few years, numerous campaigns by large financial institutions have sought to accelerate the process.

One of these campaigns involved Standard Bank, which was assisted by the Robin Hood Unclaimed Benefits platform.

Robin Hood said that it has helped 26,984 beneficiaries receive R138 million in unclaimed benefits.

See if you are owed money from unclaimed benefits

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) makes it easy for South Africans to check whether they are owed unclaimed benefits.

The FSCA explained that if a person has been a member of a South African retirement fund, even as far back as 1981, they may still be entitled to a benefit.

“If the fund’s rules provide that you can claim this amount, the fund can pay these unclaimed benefits into a pension or provident fund,” the FSCA said.

After this has happened, the fund’s member or his beneficiaries can claim the unclaimed benefit.

The Registrar of Pension Funds provides a central database on the FSCA website for South Africans to check whether they have unclaimed benefits.

For this check, people must provide their name, surname, identification number, fund name, and employer name.

When a match is successful, the person will be provided with the fund’s contact details or those of the administrator.

The table below outlines the ways South Africans can check whether they have unclaimed benefits.

Search Channel	Link / Contact Details
Online Searches on the FSCA Website	Click here
Submit an enquiry to FSCA	Click here
Email Enquiry – ID Number	[email protected]
Email Enquiry – General Request	[email protected]
SMS Enquiry – ID Number	30913
SMS Enquiry – General Request	30766
Fax Submissions	086 578 1183
Toll-free Telephone Enquiries	0800 20 3722 (toll-free)
Walk in clients	River Walk Office Park, Block B, 41 Matroosberg Road, Ashlea Gardens
Written Enquiries	PO Box 35655 Menlo Park Pretoria 0102