The value of unclaimed benefits of around R88 Billion is owing to beneficiaries of various policy/investment types and a concerted effort is being made to distribute this money to the rightful beneficiaries. An injection into the economy of this money will do wonders for The South African economy and could potentially change the lives of many people who have money owing to them.
About half of this is unclaimed retirement benefits, with the bulk of the balance being made up of life insurance and collective investment schemes.
About 4.8 million people (estimate by the retirement industry) are owed money tat is just sitting there waiting to be claimed.
With this amount of cash being readily available to proven beneficiaries, there are always the opportunists, scum bags and illegal operators who will try to fleece the legitimate beneficiaries of there rightful share. Much like the Road accident fund scammers, these are low lives preying on the poor who are “low hanging fruit”. The tracing industry is largely unregulated and has unfortunately attracted a criminal element so please be very careful, this is your money, not theirs.
How to identify scammers from legitimate tracing agents
The first step is to do the searches yourself to see if you or anyone in your family has any benefits available to them. This can be done on the FSCA.co.za website relatively easily.
The next step is to verify the tracing agents appointment by contacting the retirement fund or administrator directly and asking them to confirm the appointment of the tracing agent. This is sometime more difficult than one would expect so we would recommend that you only use a tracing agent that is registered as a financial service provider. This can be checked on the FSCA website.
What to look out for
- A legitimate tracing agent is appointed by the scheme and s paid to do the tracing, they will never ask you for any upfront payment.
- A legitimate tracing agent will be able to ascertain and verify that you have a claim, not the final amount owing to you. This can only be calculated by the fund administrator.
- Always check the company details of the tracing agent and never respond to anything from a gmail address.
- Scammers may not know the name of the company you or your relative worked, or the fund that they contributed to.
- Legitimate tracing agents record their phone calls and will advise you.
These are some of the things to look out for, always be vigilant and ask questions and never part with any money upfront.
What documents are required to make a claim?
- Completed claim form
- Certified copy of your ID
- Proof of banking details
- Tax number and proof of employment
These documents are required to verify who you are and enable them to make payment of any claim.
My last bit of advice on this subject is, not to trust anyone that is not listed on the FSCA website. This may be an overly conservative and cautious approach but for peace of mind I recommend those that are officially verified and/or appointed by the FSCA or the funds.
Use the Unclaimed benefits information to find out if you have a claim. On this page you will find all the ways to contact the FSCA to help identify your eligibility for a claim.
Devi caught out an unregistered unclaimed benefits tracer
Devi Sankaree Govender from ENCA news did a great job of exposing a scammer who was taking money upfront from customers. Watch the video to get an idea of how these guys operate. This will give you a good idea of what to look out for.
