Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth says 22,567 Compensation Fund pensioners have received their 5% pension increase and backdated payments, following delays in the implementation of the annual adjustment that came into effect on April 1 2025.

Meth was responding to a parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament (MP) Joseph Britz.

Britz asked how many pensioners had not received their full pension payments, including the 5% increase, whether all pensioners had been paid by 28 October 2025, and when outstanding backdated payments would be settled.

In a parliamentary reply, Meth said the Compensation Fund had “reiterated its commitment to paying all pensioners on time”, but acknowledged that the process of implementing the increase had been affected by several challenges.

She said that in August 2025 the Compensation Fund had issued a notice advising pensioners to use banks connected to recognised account verification systems, explaining that this was intended to “address audit issues, reduce fraud, and ensure payments go straight into pensioners’ accounts”.

Meth said the implementation of the 5% pension increase had faced “several hurdles”, including comprehensive verification requirements, the launch of a new account verification system and the integration of a new ICT provider in 2025.

Despite these difficulties, she said that “to date, 22 567 pensioners with FICA-compliant accounts at qualified banks have now received their increases”.

Meth said that not all pensioners had received the increase by the end of October 2025. According to Meth, the Compensation Fund was still awaiting proof of life from 517 foreign pensioners from SADC countries, and these pensioners had therefore not received the increase.

She added that pensions for 3,649 government officials employed by exempted employers were administered by the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), and that the GPAA had been notified of the increase in October 2025.

Meth said the Compensation Fund remained committed to ensuring uninterrupted monthly pension payments for all beneficiaries and had introduced targeted measures to address challenges related to the timely disbursement of pensions and annual adjustments.

She said that “as of the latest update, 22,567 pensioners registered with the Compensation Fund have successfully received the 5% increase in their monthly pensions”, which she said demonstrated the Fund’s commitment to implementing the approved adjustment.

Meth said the 517 foreign pensioners who had not yet received the increase were subject to additional verification requirements, including the submission of proof of life and confirmation of banking details.

She said these measures were necessary to ensure regulatory compliance and to prevent fraud, adding that the Compensation Fund annually communicated with pensioners to request the documentation required to enable payment.

”In November and December 2025, 22,567 pensioners received both the backdated amounts and the 5% increase, and said outstanding queries from pensioners were being addressed,” she said. 

Meth acknowledged that delays had occurred, attributing them to verification requirements, the introduction of a new account verification system and the onboarding of a new ICT service provider.

Meth said pensioners who had been verified and who held FICA-compliant accounts at participating banks had received their increases, adding that the Compensation Fund was continuing to address audit findings and combat fraud, with the aim of ensuring that annual pension increases would be implemented on time in 2026.

She added that the Compensation Fund currently provided monthly pensions to 23,084 recipients.

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za 

IOL News 

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