Answer to a question from a reader

My government pension was paid into an untraceable account which I did not approve. Please help me!

The short answer

While waiting for an outcome from the Ombudsman, you should follow up if you don't receive a response after four months.

The whole question

Dear Athalie

I am a retired government employee, and I have been trying to claim my pension for the past four years. I worked for the government for 10 years, after that I resigned but left my pension intact because of my two children. When I reached retirement age four years ago, I applied for my pension and submitted all the necessary documents. I was told it would take three months to process. 

I was then told by the GEPF liaison officer that I never had a pension fund, even though I have payslips that show pension deductions. I was then finally told that I had been paid without applying for or approving the account the money was paid into. But there is no proof of payment and no tax directive from SARS for the payment. 

I found out from my bank archives that I have two employee numbers, and the account allegedly paid into is untraceable. 

I went to the GEPF ombudsman, who asked me to grant a power of attorney to investigate. I have been told that they are still investigating. Please help.

The long answer

Asking for power of attorney after a complaint has been lodged means the Ombudsman (the GEPO) needs formal written authorisation to investigate - it’s a procedural step designed to protect the confidentiality of your personal information and to give the GEPO the legal authority to investigate. 

By taking your complaint to the Government Employees Pension Ombud (GEPO), you have done the only thing possible to get to the bottom of this nightmare: Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) pensions do not fall under the Pension Funds Act of 1956, but under its own specific law (the Government Employees Pension Law, 1996 (Proclamation 21 of 1996), so you could not apply to the Pension Funds Adjudicator for help or dispute resolution.

The GEPO was established to take up administrative injustices, and it has the power to investigate, consider, and resolve complaints about missing, delayed, or unpaid pensions for GEPF members, pensioners, and their beneficiaries. The GEPO provides a binding dispute resolution process as an alternative to going to court, which is expensive, while the GEPO is free. 

The GEPO has the authority to ask for and gather the necessary documentation from the GEPF and the GPAA (which administers the GEPF) to trace missing funds or verify service records. The Ombudsman can issue a binding determination to compel the GEPF to rectify the situation, including ordering the payment of outstanding benefits.

A binding determination can only be set aside by a court after a review process.

You probably know that:

  1. the GEPO can only take up complaints that arose within the last three years, unless there are exceptional circumstances which would warrant an extension. 

  2. the complaint must be lodged with the employer or GEPF or GPAA first, and they must be given 30 days to resolve it, before the Ombud can get involved.

  3. It is not a tracing agency and they may refuse to investigate cases that require extensive tracing of a lost pension if there is no proof of a faulty process in the beginning. 

The GEPO says it tries to settle cases within four months from the time the complaint is received, but some complaints may take more time depending on how complex the issues are.

When the Ombud has gathered all the information, he will make a decision which is called a determination. This is where he highlights the dispute, the information received, the laws that apply and the relief that he is ordering (if any). 

The GEPO says that if the complainant is still unhappy, the complaint will be allocated to an investigator, who is a lawyer. The investigator will look at the facts of the complaint and decide what rule of the fund (or what law of the country) applies to the matter and recommend to the Ombud what the possible solution should be.

So it seems to me that you will just have to wait for the Ombud to come to a decision, but if four months pass and you have not heard from the Ombud, you can follow up directly as follows:

  • Send a formal, written inquiry via email to enquiries@gepo.co.za asking for a status update on the investigation, giving the reference number and mentioning that the 4-month period has lapsed.

  • Call the GEPO office at 012 110 4950 to get an immediate, though not legally binding, update on the file status.

  • You can also visit the GEPO Office in Pretoria (Iparioli Office Park) to inquire about your file in person. 

Wishing you the best,
Athalie

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Answered on April 1, 2026, 1:06 p.m.

Labour

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