R88 billion waiting! – FSCA urges South Africans to claim lost benefits

Cape Town – South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is developing a plan to distribute R88 billion in unclaimed retirement, severance, and death benefits.

According to FSCA research, nearly R88.56 billion in unclaimed assets remain within the financial sector, with R4.5 billion of this total consisting of unclaimed dividends. Factors such as inadequate record-keeping, outdated banking information, address changes, and job relocations have made it difficult to track down the rightful owners of these funds.

“When people retire, change banking details, move homes or lose track of their investments, the shares they own in companies — and the dividends those shares earn — often go unclaimed.

“In SA, this has led to billions of rand sitting uncollected, with many people unaware they have money waiting for them. If you’ve ever invested in a company, worked for one that offered shares, or simply forgotten about old investments, you could be owed dividends,” the JSE said in  an article published by The Weekly Business.

FSCA Commissioner Unathi Kamlana stressed the importance of addressing this issue, particularly in light of the country’s high unemployment and inequality rates.

Research from FSCA shows there is nearly R88.56bn in unclaimed assets across the financial sector, with R4.5bn of these assets being unclaimed dividends.
SA has R4.5 billion worth of unclaimed dividends. You could be owed some https://t.co/Z6NYCneX0g

— The Business Weekly (@JohnsonQobo) January 30, 2025

“People are genuinely interested in getting this right because, in a country with an unemployment rate such as ours, anything that provides any kind of alleviation is acceptable,” Daily Investor quoted Kamlana as saying during an interview with Bloomberg.

The mining sector, historically reliant on low-wage labor, accounts for the largest share of unclaimed benefits, according to the FSCA.

“The sector was designed never to really look after the interests of the labourers, and therefore whatever would’ve been deducted, would’ve been deducted, I think, with the intention that the labourers would never get that money,” Kamlana said.

To improve access to information and simplify the claims process, the FSCA is proposing several initiatives.

These include the creation of a central unclaimed assets fund, the transfer of funds to the National Revenue Fund, or using the money to enhance public services.

The FSCA plans to submit its recommendations to the government soon.