Wife in legal battle after late husband excludes her from R783,000 pension fund and adds girlfriend

A married woman who has two children with her late husband turned to the Financial Services Tribunal (FST) after she was excluded from his over R783,000 pension fund.

Mmaseeiso Patricia Ramakatsa was married to Thokozani Ngema. They lived together from 2014 until 2015.

Ngema was an Eskom employee from March 2003 until his death in April 2023.

After his passing, a death benefit of R783,564 became available for distribution.

Ngema shared the money among his six children and allocated eight percent to his girlfriend. He left his estranged wife with nothing.

In a desperate attempt to claim a portion, Ramakatsa sought relief at Pension Fund Adjudicator (PFA) and argued that she was married to the deceased in terms of customary law in 2008, and she was the surviving spouse.

However, the PFA was satisfied with Eskom's pension fund decision as it respected the wishes of the deceased.

Her application was dismissed.

She turned to the FST hoping for a different outcome.

The FST relied on a case law where it was held that the Adjudicator held that: "...the fact that a person qualifies as a legal dependent does not automatically give them a right to receive a portion of the death benefit."

Moreover, the FST considered the fact that the couple had been separated for at least eight years before the husband died.

Meanwhile, the girlfriend could show that not only was she a life partner of the deceased, but she had equally contributed to the common household, and they had two children with the deceased.

In the circumstances, the FST considered the distribution fair and reasonable.

The wife's application was dismissed.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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