Benefit Recovery Services Gets A Very Big Contract

By Eddyson Lugangwa Posted 19 April 2006 @ 03:38 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

Nairobi (IBTimes.com) - Benefit Recovery Services (BRS)-South Africa has been awarded the biggest surplus apportionment and unclaimed benefits project to date, in terms of size, to locate and communicate with over 500 000 former members of the retail motor industry in order to distribute pension monies.

BRS, a black-empowerment company owned by Safika Holdings, is a significant player in the provision of communication and facilitation solutions for unclaimed benefits and pension surpluses to financial-services companies and pension funds.

The contract was awarded by the Motor Industry Fund Administrators (Mifa) which manages and administers retail motor industry funds on a non-profit basis.

According to Mifa, this surplus apportionment process is limited to the retail side of the industry and only involves the Auto Workers' Pension Fund (AWPF), Auto Workers' Provident Fund (AWPROVF) and the MI/Misa Provident Fund. This is in accordance with the Pension Funds Second Amendment Act of 2001, which requires funds to apportion to former members any surpluses as at their surplus apportionment date of 31 March 2004.

The Act stipulates that individuals or members who left the funds since 1 January 1980 are potentially eligible to participate in the surplus apportionment.

Both AWPF and AWPROVF are targeting former members who worked as petrol-station attendants, mechanics and panel beaters. Similarly the MI/Misa Provident Fund's former members include artisans, administrative, sales and managerial staff.

In terms of the Act, members who cannot be found within six months from the date the campaign commences, may be excluded from the Surplus Apportionment.

BRS's Managing Director Richard Stride says this is currently the largest surplus distribution process in South Africa and enjoys buy-in from industry's unions, employers and their representatives.

Stride explains: "We are planning a communication campaign and community events around the country to create awareness amongst the target market to register and submit their claims. BRS has the capacity in-house, which includes knowledge of the surplus industry and the ability to manage data volumes, to ensure that the project is conducted effectively.

"To date BRS has helped more than 140 420 beneficiaries, with an estimated distribution of over R629-million."

A disputed estimated R60-billion to R80-billion in pension-fund surpluses and another R8-billion in other unclaimed benefits reportedly remains in the coffers of pension and insurance funds in South Africa.