Pretoria – The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) says it remains committed to making sure that employees who are leaving the public service are paid out on time.
The department was responding to a report by the Public Service Commission on pension pay-outs.
The DPSA said failure by any department to timeously complete and submit all the documents that are required to process the pension pay-outs of employees is unacceptable.
“Every government department is expected to timeously manage the process that leads to an employee exiting employment and ensuring that the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) is provided with all the correctly filled documents,” said DPSA Director-General Mashwahle Diphofa.
DPSA will work with the Public Service Commission, the Government Pensions Administration Agency and the rest of the public service to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations contained in the commission’s report.
“We strongly urge human resource units in departments to identify all employees who will reach retirement age within the next 12 months and to start engaging these employees on the processes involved.
“Departments should explain to the employees the applicable benefits that they will be entitled to at retirement – leave pay, post-retirement medical subsidy, gratuity and monthly annuity; and issue the necessary forms that the employee is required to complete at least six months before retirement,” Diphofa said.
Employees who are struggling to receive their pensions pay-outs are advised to consult their individual departments to check if their documents have been submitted to the Government Pensions Administration Agency, as per the timeframes set out in the law. – SAnews.gov.za
