Defined benefit pension fund members could be in for a bonanza at the year end or early next year, as companies open negotiations to access millions of rands in surplus funds.
The Financial Services Board is calling for comment on draft legislation that will give companies access to surplus money in their pension funds.
The proposed legislation is scheduled to go to Parliament this year.
But before companies can access the surplus funds they will have to get your permission as a fund member. And the only way companies are likely to get fund members' permission is by agreeing to divide the spoils with them.
The huge surpluses were generated mainly by exceptional investment performance.
But don't break out the champagne too quickly. Before you rush in to give your employer permission to access the surplus, take care that you have taken into account all the consequences.
Cyril Ginsburg, chief executive of consulting actuaries at Ginsburg Malan & Carsons, warns that tapping into surpluses can have unexpected dangerous consequences for retirement funds. The dangers are evident in Britain where a similar route was followed.
"An average company pays between 10 and 12 percent of its salary bill in retirement fund contributions for its staff. In many companies the wage bill is the highest cost and has a direct impact on profit levels.
"If a company withdraws a surplus or takes a contribution holiday it could result in a significant increase in profits because the total pay bill would be reduced."
But what happens when the surplus has all been withdrawn, the company's profits are back to where they were and then the stock market crashes or there is significant market correction?
A stock market crash would hit in two ways. It would lower the value of the assets in the pension fund as well as the value of the company.
If the assets of the pension fund lost value, the fund could well have difficulty meeting its liabilities.
The company guaranteeing the benefits may then have to put more money into the retirement fund, bringing down its profits and undermining the share price further.
Ginsburg says if this happened to a number of companies, it could create a downward spiral of dropping share prices, reducing the value of the assets of retirement funds, which in turn would result in a need for more money from employers, which in turn would again affect balance sheets.
Ginsburg says great care should be taken when withdrawingsurpluses from retirement funds especially with the current "high risk of a sustained market correction".