The Financial Services Tribunal has dismissed an estranged wife’s complaint against the Becsa Provident Fund’s ruling that she could not claim part of her late husband’s death benefits because she failed to prove she relied on him financially.
Nomsa Ndlangamandla, the estranged wife of Isack Bafana Ndlangamandla, complained to the tribunal that she was unhappy at her exclusion from his death benefit.
Ndlangamandla died on September 7 2023, and had a death benefit of more than R3.5m.
His girlfriend and child were cited among the respondents in the matter.
Becsa allocated 15% of the death benefit to the deceased’s daughter; 22.5% to another daughter; 22.5% to a son; and 25% to another son. The deceased’s girlfriend would get 15%, just over R520,000.
Aggrieved by her exclusion, Nomsa laid a complaint with the Pension Fund Adjudicator.
She submitted that she had been married to Ndlangamandla and was financially dependent on him. She provided a copy of a lobola letter dated September 17 2022, and a marriage certificate in support of her submission.
Although Nomsa could not provide proof of receiving financial support from her husband in the form of bank statements, she alleged that he had provided her with cash and groceries.
Despite not living with him, she told the tribunal that she would visit her husband on weekends or when she was off from work. She said Becsa failed to exercise its discretion fairly and equitably and that by virtue of being the wife of the deceased, she qualified as a legal dependant.
In response, Becsa indicated that it had proof that Ndlangamandla had been living with his girlfriend from June 2022 until his death.
The girlfriend provided bank statements showing she had received funds from him, proving her financial dependency.
Becsa accepted that Ndlangamandla and his girlfriend shared a common household and responsibilities. Accordingly, she was a factual dependant.
In contrast, Nomsa provided no proof of her dependency on him.
The Pension Fund Adjudicator dismissed Nomsa’s complaint and concluded that Becsa considered relevant factors and found nothing wrong with its allocation of Ndlangamandla’s death benefit.
Undeterred, she approached the Financial Services Tribunal for a ruling that Becsa should reconsider its allocation. The tribunal found that in the absence of Nomsa’s proof of dependency, the fund could not come to any other decision, and her application for reconsideration was dismissed.