OPINION: The Government Employees Pension Ombudsman is a welcome relief for many claimants facing challenges in accessing their benefit payments, writes Chris Ditabe.
THE devastating impact of Covid-19 has left many people not only dealing with the loss of a loved one, but also the frustration of paperwork to access death and spousal pension benefits to keep their households afloat. This can often be a cumbersome process beset with delays at a time when these benefits are needed the most.
South Africa has had more than 2.8 million Covid-19 positive cases since the start of the pandemic. Government employees such as frontline workers, healthcare workers, police and military personnel are a considerable part of those exposed to the virus in carrying out their duties. However, many people experience waiting times far exceeding 60 days for numerous reasons, including slow processing from the human resources department, delays in processing documents at the GEPF, late claims by other dependants/beneficiaries, and, most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in an increased number of claims.
Maria claimed for her husband’s pension through the Department of Basic Education and only received the funeral benefit of R15 000 in February this year.
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