My late father was a police officer in Gqeberha. How can I find out if he left me any inheritance?

The long answer

As your father was a police officer in Gqeberha, he would have been a member of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), administered by the Government Pensions Administration Agency  (GPAA). The GPAA handles the day-to-day administration and benefit payments on behalf of the GEPF. 

As a GEPF member, your father would have been asked to nominate his beneficiaries on the GEPF form. The GEPF says that beneficiaries can be the member’s dependants and/or those he has nominated (nominees).

The GEPF pays death benefits to beneficiaries if a member dies in service or within five years of retiring. If a member dies within five years of retirement, the GEPF pays the remaining five years in a lump-sum payment.

The GEPF says that a natural or legally adopted child is eligible for benefits: “When a GEPF member dies, the GEPF pays a monthly pension to his/her young children – this is called child pension. We pay child pension to the children of our deceased members – from birth to 22 years old.”

They go on to say that “…if you do not include all relevant beneficiaries, the GEPF has the right to overrule a Nomination form, or to include excluded beneficiaries if they meet the requirements of a dependant as determined by the rules. This includes children born out of wedlock.”

You may qualify for a lump-sum death benefit if you were formally nominated by your father, or if you can prove that you were financially dependent on him at the time he died. 

As you were only one year old then, you would certainly have been financially dependent on him when he died, and Maya On Money says that minor children are automatically provided for. But if you are older than 22 now, you will not qualify for a child’s pension.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to go to the walk-in GEPF office in Gqeberha and ask them to do a "beneficiary check" or "unclaimed benefit status" using your late father’s full name, ID number, and SAPS force/persal number if you have got it.

This is the address:

Ground Floor, Kwantu Towers, Sivuyile Mini-Square (next to the City Hall), Gqeberha / Port Elizabeth.

If the GEPF confirms that a child pension or a portion of a death benefit gratuity is available, you must submit the following documents for them to process the claim: 

• Your birth certificate (to show that he was your father. This is especially important if he was not married to your mother.)

• A certified copy of your ID (it must be certified within the last six months) 

• A certified copy of your late father’s death certificate

• A completed GEPF Banking Details Form (Z894), which is available on the GEPF Website (www.gepf.co.za)

• A completed Personal Details Form (Z864)

You can also contact the GEPF at:

• National Toll-Free Call Centre: 0800 117 669

• Gqeberha Regional Email: [email protected] (For Eastern Cape regional enquiries)

• General Enquiries Email: [email protected]

Wishing you the best,
Athalie