Professor John Murphy, appointed pensions adjudicator with effect from January 1, 1998, brings with him years of experience in labour law and no preconceptions about the pensions industry.
Murphy is currently head of the Department of Public Law at the University of the Western Cape. He is a senior commissioner of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which deals with labour disputes, and is an arbitrator for the Independent Mediation Service of SA (IMSSA), which conducts mediation and arbitration.
He has practised as a labour lawyer and constitutional lawyer for the past 15 years.
Murphy has no connections with the pensions industry and has not previously been involved in pension fund disputes.
"The intention is to bring in a fresh outlook," he said.
The new office of pensions adjudicator is similar to that of the ombudsmen for the short- and long-term insurance industries. The appointment was made by the Minister of Finance and the post will be funded by a levy on pension funds which will be administered by the Financial Services Board (FSB). However, the pensions adjudicator is independent of the FSB and any other organisation.
His task is to deal with complaints arising from the administration and investment of funds, interpretation of the rules of funds and whether employers have complied with their obligations under the rules of the fund. The question of the extent of his jurisdiction will have to be determined as disputes arise.
His jurisdiction covers about R400 billion of pension funds. This is all funds registered under the Pension Funds Act both defined benefit and defined contribution funds, pension and provident funds but excludes bargaining council funds, public sector and certain parastatal retirement funds.
Murphy said he would try to mediate as many complaints as possible in an informal manner. This is similar to the CCMA's method, where "appropriate dispute resolution" is followed.
It will cost nothing to bring a complaint to the attention of the pensions adjudicator, unless one of the parties wishes to employ a legal representative. If so, the permission of the pensions adjudicator will have to be sought and he might rule against this if he considers it is not warranted by the complexity of the matter or the parties do not have the same ability to present their cases.
The powers of the pensions adjudicator are the same as a civil court. If, for example, he rules that a pension fund must pay one of its members a sum of money, the sheriff of the High Court would be empowered to attach property to execute the adjudicator's order. If one of the parties to the dispute is not satisfied, they can appeal the decision in the High Court.
Murphy, who was only appointed about three weeks ago, has not yet moved into his new office or established a post box or telephone number. Personal Finance will publish these when they are available. Although he will only be able to hear and rule on disputes from January 1, he is willing to accept written complaints from the beginning of November.
