Dear fellow taxpayer,

Today is (thankfully) a time of equal opportunity. Many couples adopt a 50/50 attitude when it comes to shared expenses, and most women are income-earners in their own right.

But, until a recent finding by the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA), being financially inter-dependent with a retirement member meant you couldn’t claim your partner’s death benefits.

Now, inter-dependent is as good as completely dependent!

On the 18th of March, the PFA found that anyone who’s in a financially inter-dependent relationship with a retirement fund member can be regarded as factually dependent on that member, allowing them to claim the member’s death benefits. This was a decision made in the case of Hlathi NG v University of Fort Hare Retirement Fund. 

Mr. Hlathi, a member of the fund, had been in a relationship with Ms. Hanise for 17 years. They had lived together for nine of those, and were planning to get married. When Mr. Hlathi died, the fund awarded his mother one-third of the benefit, and Ms. Hanise two-thirds (R400 000), less tax.

Mr. Hlathi’s mom objected

She was unhappy that Ms. Hanise got the bulk of the payout, saying that Ms. Hanise wasn’t dependent on her son because she had her own high-paying job.
The PFA said that if Mr. Hlathi had died after it amended the Pension Funds Act in September 2007, Ms. Hanise automatically qualified as a dependent.

From September 2007 life partners are included in the definition of a spouse

But, Mr. Hlathi had died before the amendment, so Ms. Hanise’s had to prove her factual dependency.
To prove this, the PFA said it’s sufficient to show that people in a relationship are inter-dependent and that if one dies, the surviving partner is financially worse-off as a result.

Mr. Hlathi’s death had left Ms. Hanise financially worse-off

Therefore, the PFA found her financially dependent on Mr. Hlathi and they found the fund trustees’ decision to award her two-thirds of his death benefit lawful. They dismissed Mr. Hlathi’s mother’s complaint.

Next week Monday’s a public holiday, so I’ll be off on a break. I hope you’ll be doing the same.

Jackie