South Africa’s pension funds adjudicator received 13,041 complaints in the 2025/26 financial year, a record and a 26% increase from a year earlier, according to its integrated report published in October.
Employers’ failure to pay retirement contributions accounted for 61.48% of complaints investigated and closed, up from 44.34% in the previous year. Withdrawal benefit disputes represented 22.93%. Together, the two categories made up 84.41% of the cases handled.
The surge directly affects the security of workers’ retirement savings. A contribution shortfall may emerge only when an employee leaves a job or seeks a withdrawal, delaying payment and making it harder to rebuild the member’s records.
The Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator finalised 11,047 cases during the year. Financial orders reached 99.76 million rand, according to Moonstone’s review of the report, while unresolved cases older than six months rose from 76 to 342.
The office attributed the increase to the two-pot retirement system, greater awareness of its services and economic pressure. Introduced in September 2024, the system lets members access part of their savings before retirement while preserving the rest.