The freedom to make investment choices regarding your portion of the retirement fund to which you belong, has been raised before pension funds adjudicator John Murphy.
Adriaan Fondse, a member of the Denel Retirement Fund, complained to Murphy that the fund promised but failed to deliver free investment options for members who wanted to actively manage the investment of their individual share accounts.
The retirement fund told Murphy that the trustees had agreed in principle to implement a free investment option plan, but warned that it was important that members be educated about investments and that appropriate administrative systems should be in place.
A committee had been set up to investigate the matter.
Murphy ordered the committee to go ahead with the feasibility study and report back to trustees and to members by December 7 this year.
Fondse also complained about the division of assets between the defined benefit fund and defined contribution fund subsequent to a restructuring of the funds.
He said the transfer of the R300 million as an employer protection reserve was irregular and unauthorised, because this money was not paid by the employer. Instead, he asked for this money to be divided up among individual members' share accounts.
The two funds and the participating employer denied that the transfer of this money was unauthorised under the fund's rules.
It had been decided after negotiations with the fund members that 60 percent of the reserve be allocated to the employer for a contribution holiday. The remaining 40 percent was to be shared among the members.
Murphy asked the two parties to negotiate.
An agreement was reached that the money could be transferred on condition that only members who transferred from the defined benefit fund, and not new members, should benefit from the 40 percent allocation.