Thousands of employers in South Africa not paying employee pensions – owing R8.3 billion and counting
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has published the names of thousands of employers with arrears pension contributions, with the number tripling over the past three years.
The FSCA’s latest list of shame flagged over 16,000 employers that have contravened section 13A of the Pension Funds Act, which requires the payment of contributions to pension funds.
The publication of the list is the fifth in a series of such communications since June 2022. The FSCA said that it started naming and shaming companies with the intention of promoting transparency.
It also serves as an alert to affected members and stakeholders, it said.
“This is critical in supporting the FSCA’s ongoing efforts to protect retirement fund members and promote regulatory compliance across the sector,” it said.
Worryingly, the FSCA noted that the number of reported employers has more than tripled over the past three years, rising from 5,430 identified in April 2023 to 75 funds and 16,556 employers as at 28 February 2026.
The latest update specifically names 6,064 employers reported to the authority, based on the severity and duration of the reported arrears.
Total arrears are estimated to be R8.33 billion, affecting approximately 590,000 retirement fund members, it said.
This represents an increase of R1.04 billion (14.2%) from the R7.29 billion reported as at 31 March 2025. Notably, late payment interest now accounts for 43.5% of total arrears.
“Current data suggests that the severity of arrears is increasing, with late payment interest increasing by 21.5%, compared with a 9% increase in the capital portion of arrears,” it said.
This indicates that outstanding contributions are remaining unpaid for longer periods and continuing to accumulate interest.
Entities participating in local government funds account for 21.5% of total arrears, while those participating in bargaining council funds contribute 76.9%.
Arrears by municipalities in the North-West and Free State provinces remain the most significant within the local government sector, collectively accounting for 79.4% of all municipal arrears.
Positively, since the FSCA’s first publication of defaulting employers, total recoveries are reported to have reached R1.01 billion, representing approximately 12.1% of the estimated arrears.
More than 200 employer records have moved into a more favourable compliance position since the previous publication in September 2025.
This includes full or partial settlement of arrears, settlement arrangements, or voluntary termination following business closure.
In the local government sector specifically, interventions by the National Treasury to withhold equitable share allocations from persistently non-compliant municipalities have begun to improve the regularity of contribution payments, the authority noted.
“This underscores the value of continued inter-agency collaboration in addressing arrear contributions and protecting retirement fund members,” it said.
The FSCA said it will continue its collaborative efforts with the Auditor-General, National Treasury, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, to pursue employers and their directors for non-compliance.
“Members who are concerned that their pension fund contributions may not have been paid should contact their employers and pension funds directly to confirm the status of their contributions,” it said.
The list of employers and funds, as well as corrections and those that have taken positive action to address the arrears, can be found on the FSCA’s website. A direct link to the ZIP file can be found here.
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