Two new laws for pension funds in South Africa
Two new laws are changing how retirement fund contributions are enforced in South Africa, with one already enforced and the other currently under consideration by lawmakers.
This is according to legal experts at Webber Wentzel, who said these developments significantly strengthen the mechanisms available to ensure that employers pay retirement fund contributions on time.
The first change took effect on 8 January 2026 when the Minister of Employment and Labour withdrew a long-standing variation notice that had been in place since 2003.
This notice had previously excluded retirement fund contributions regulated under the Pension Funds Act from enforcement under section 34A of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
With the withdrawal of that notice, labour inspectors now have the power to enforce section 34A directly.
This provision requires employers to pay employee retirement fund contributions to the relevant fund within seven days of deducting the money from workers’ salaries.
Employers must also pay their own contributions within seven days after the end of the month.
“This enforcement power is already operative and does not depend on the proposed amendments set out in the Employment Laws Amendment Bill, 2025,” Webber Wentzel explained.
In practical terms, this means labour inspectors can now take action against employers who fail to pay retirement fund contributions within the required timeframes.
The second law change is the proposed Employment Laws Amendment Bill, which is currently open for public comment before being formally introduced to Parliament.
If enacted in its current form, the bill will expand enforcement even further by creating additional legal pathways to recover unpaid retirement fund contributions.
The bill proposes the introduction of two new sections—62B and 77B—into the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
Section 62B would treat an employer’s failure to pay retirement fund contributions in the same way as failing to pay wages or other money owed to an employee.
Some issues with the new laws
However, instead of the money being paid to the employee directly, the employer would be ordered to pay the outstanding amount to the retirement fund.
“The practical effect is that non-payment of benefit fund contributions will attract the same enforcement consequences as non-payment of wages or other statutory entitlements,” Webber Wentzel said.
If the amendments become law, retirement funds will be able to pursue unpaid contributions through multiple forums simultaneously.
These include compliance orders from labour inspectors, orders from the Labour Court, awards issued by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and determinations by bargaining councils.
All of these bodies would have the power to direct employers to pay outstanding contributions along with interest, as prescribed under section 13A of the Pension Funds Act.
The law firm also highlighted that the legislation imposes serious personal consequences for company leadership.
Section 13A(8) of the Pension Funds Act creates personal liability for certain individuals involved in a company’s financial management, including directors who are regularly involved in managing financial affairs.
However, Webber Wentzel warned that a key technical issue remains unresolved, which is the difference in deadlines between the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Pension Funds Act.
Both laws require employer contributions to be paid within seven days after the end of the month. However, they differ when it comes to employee contributions.
Under the BCEA, employee contributions must be paid within seven days of deduction from salaries, while the Pension Funds Act requires payment within seven days after the end of the month in which the contributions are due.
Because employers use different payroll schedules, this mismatch could create compliance risks.
“An employer who complies with one statute may inadvertently breach the other,” the firm warned.
The issue is particularly challenging for companies that pay workers weekly or fortnightly rather than monthly, as section 34A could require multiple payments to retirement funds within a single month.
The proposed amendments could also complicate matters further if different enforcement bodies interpret the obligations in different ways.
As a result, Webber Wentzel said legislative clarification or regulatory guidance may be necessary. The bill is currently open for public comment, with submissions due by 28 March 2026.
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