{"id":852396,"date":"2026-03-02T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=852396"},"modified":"2026-02-28T15:54:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T13:54:51","slug":"big-changes-for-r88-billion-in-unclaimed-assets-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/budget-speech\/852396\/big-changes-for-r88-billion-in-unclaimed-assets-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Big changes for R88 billion in unclaimed assets in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During Wednesday’s 2026 Budget Speech, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revealed that the country has more than R88 billion in unclaimed financial assets and benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government now plans to manage these unclaimed benefits by creating a central administrator responsible for record-keeping and tracing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is to make the claims process simpler for those owed the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) Commissioner, Unathi Kamlana, reported similar figures\u2014around R88 billion owed to South Africans but not claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nedbank analysts noted that a significant portion of undiscovered assets comes from retirement funds, specifically indicating that 53% of these unclaimed benefits are from retirement accounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysts also noted that the collective investment scheme and life insurance sectors together account for 38% of the total unclaimed assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FSCA confirmed recent figures, which indicate there are over 4.3 million members with unclaimed retirement benefits worth over R51 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Following recommendations from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, National Treasury will introduce reforms to manage these unclaimed benefits through the creation of a central administrator responsible for record keeping and tracing,” said Godongwana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reform seeks to establish a central administrator responsible for maintaining records of available benefits and for assisting individuals in identifying those to which they are entitled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of the reform is to simplify the process for people to claim benefits they may not be aware of or have difficulty accessing due to inadequate record-keeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Momentum Corporate Head of Employee Benefits Henr\u00e9 Prinsloo said that the extent of unclaimed benefits in South Africa necessitates reform, but that mere centralisation will not address the fundamental issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA centralised administrator could create a more consistent and coordinated approach to tracing, verification, and payment of beneficiaries,\u201d said Prinsloo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prinsloo said that an advantage of centralisation is the efficiency it could bring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A single, uniform approach to tracing members, beneficiaries, and estates may lead to cost savings and improved outcomes compared to the fragmented methodology currently in place across the market,\u201d said Prinsloo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A way forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Current legislation dictates that if a benefit remains unclaimed for 24 months, it is classified as unclaimed and moved to a dedicated fund for preservation,” said Prinsloo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While various platforms have emerged to assist individuals in tracking these assets, the widening gap between available funds and successful claims suggests that a more unified, proactive structure is required,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prinsloo said that timing, along with several other practical considerations, should be cautiously assessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that each day beneficiaries remain untraced, the amount of unclaimed benefits increases and that establishing a central administrator would require a thorough legal and regulatory framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prinsloo also pointed out that this process might take years, during which the issue could continue to worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fundamental issue is often a lack of reliable information. Many individuals left employment years ago or have passed away, and their beneficiaries may not even be aware that benefits are due.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Centralising administration does not automatically solve historical record-keeping and data limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prinsloo raises a broader policy question about whether funds that remain untraceable after exhaustive efforts should be kept in a central structure in perpetuity, or if they should be released to support South Africa’s broader social and economic development while still protecting the rights of original beneficiaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that any such decision would need to navigate complex legal considerations, which he believes is a discussion worth having.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurrently, this capital is not benefiting anyone. In a country with significant capital needs, there may be ways for these funds to support social and economic development, while still protecting the rights of original beneficiaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prinsloo concluded that although the idea of a centralised administrator has potential value, effective reform must consider operational, governance, and data challenges to achieve real results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCentralisation may improve coordination, but it will not eliminate the core tracing challenges overnight. A balanced and carefully governed approach will be essential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa has R88 billion in unclaimed assets – and the National Treasury has proposed new systems to make it easier for people to claim what is owed to them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":852448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13716],"tags":[24780,20125],"class_list":["post-852396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget-speech","tag-budget-speech-2026","tag-unclaimed-assets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852396"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852504,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852396\/revisions\/852504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}