More than 4.3 million people in South Africa are owed over R51 billion in unclaimed retirement benefits. The money belongs to former members of pension and provident funds, and to the families of members who have died, and in most cases it is sitting there because the fund lost contact with them.
You may still have a claim from a job you left decades ago. Membership in a South African retirement fund dating back to 1981 can still produce a payout.
If you want to check every other place money could be sitting in your name, start with our guide to unclaimed money in South Africa.
What counts as an unclaimed benefit
Under the Pension Funds Act, a benefit becomes unclaimed when the fund has not paid it to the member, former member or beneficiary within 24 months of the date it legally became due.
That 24-month mark matters, because it is the point at which the money moves into an unclaimed benefits arrangement and starts appearing on the register you are about to search.
Search the FSCA register
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority keeps a central database of unclaimed benefits and lets anyone search it for free. You do not need internet access to use it.
- Online, through the Unclaimed Benefits Search Engine on the FSCA website
- Online, through the FSCA enquiry form
- SMS your identity number to 30913
- SMS a general request to 30766
- Toll free on 0800 20 3722
- Email for identity number queries: [email protected]
- Email for general queries: [email protected]
- Fax 086 578 1183
- In person at River Walk Office Park, Block B, 41 Matroosberg Road, Ashlea Gardens, Pretoria
- By post to PO Box 35655, Menlo Park, Pretoria, 0102
For the online search, you enter your name, surname and identity number, plus the fund name and employer name if you have them. The more you can give it, the better your chances of a match.
If you bank with Standard Bank, the banking app also flags matched unclaimed benefits.
What the FSCA gives you, and what it does not
The FSCA does not hold your money and does not pay it out. If it finds a match, it gives you the contact details of the fund or its administrator. You then claim from the fund itself.
That second step is where most people stall, so it helps to have your documents ready before you phone.
Documents you will need
For the FSCA enquiry:
- The completed enquiry form
- A copy of the member’s identity document, or death certificate if the member has died
- A copy of the beneficiary’s identity document
- A payslip, benefit statement or any document proving the person was a member of the fund
- Any previous correspondence with the fund
For the claim itself, the fund will usually want:
- A certified copy of your identity document or passport
- Proof of your bank account
- Your income tax number
- Any fund membership certificate or letter you still have
- A death certificate and proof of relationship, if you are claiming for someone who has died
You need a tax number because a tax directive is issued before the fund can pay you. If you do not have one, register with SARS first, or the claim will sit and wait.
If you or a family member worked on the mines
Mineworkers are the largest group of people owed money in this country, and there are two things that are specific to them.
The FSCA asks for two extra documents. For a mining enquiry, send your record of service and your Makhulu Skop, the clock card issued to members in the mining industry. Many old fund records were captured with incomplete details, sometimes a date of birth instead of a full identity number, so these documents are often what makes a match possible.
A pension is not the only money owed. There are two further pools, and neither of them appears on the FSCA register.
Compensation the CCOD has not been able to pay
Around 66 000 compensation claims approved before 2005 have still not been paid, because the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases does not know how to contact the beneficiaries or whether they are still alive. Parliament was told in 2025 that government was struggling to trace almost 75 000 former miners owed roughly R1.3 billion for lung diseases contracted at work.
This is compensation under the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, which covers occupational lung disease in miners and ex-miners. It pays a lump sum based on the level of impairment, with compensation payable from 35 percent lung function loss.
To check whether there is anything in your name, phone the Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases call centre on 080 100 0240. Families of mineworkers who have died can also claim.
Two entitlements worth knowing about:
- Former miners are entitled by law to a free benefit medical examination every 24 months at an accredited facility
- When a mineworker dies, of any cause, the family can request a free autopsy to check for occupational lung disease. If disease is found, the dependants can claim even where it was not the cause of death. This requires the written consent of the next of kin.
The Tshiamiso Trust
The Tshiamiso Trust is separate again. It was set up in 2020 to pay out the R5 billion silicosis and TB class action settlement reached with African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold and Sibanye Stillwater.
As at 30 June 2026 it had paid out R2.7 billion.
You may be able to claim if:
- You did risk work at a qualifying gold mine between 12 March 1965 and 10 December 2019
- You have permanent lung damage from silicosis or from TB contracted doing that work
Dependants can claim where the mineworker has died, provided there is evidence of silicosis, or evidence of death from TB within a year of leaving the mine. If a previous claim was turned down and the condition has since worsened, a second claim is allowed.
The window closes on 10 December 2029. The process runs through eight stages and it is not quick, so lodging early matters. The call centre operates weekdays from 07:00 to 17:00, and the trust publishes its outreach schedule on tshiamisotrust.com.
Claiming is free. Nobody should be charging you to lodge it.
If your employer never paid the money over
If contributions were deducted from your salary but the employer never paid them across to the fund, the money never reached a retirement fund at all, so it will never show up on the FSCA register.
Contact your fund and ask what it actually received against your name. If there is a shortfall, lodge a complaint with the FSCA or the Pension Funds Adjudicator.
Whose job it is to find you
Trustees of a retirement fund carry the legal duty to trace their members and beneficiaries. They may hand the work to the administrator or to a tracing agency, but the responsibility stays with the trustees.
That matters when you phone a fund and are told the delay is your fault for moving house. It is not.
What this should cost you
Nothing. The FSCA search is free, the MBOD enquiry is free, and a Tshiamiso claim is free. The FSCA’s own rules prevent its search engine from being used by anyone tracing on another person’s behalf for a fee.
If a company offers to recover your pension money for a percentage, you can run the same search yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if I have an unclaimed pension fund? Search the FSCA’s Unclaimed Benefits Search Engine with your name, surname and identity number. You can also SMS your identity number to 30913 or phone 0800 20 3722 free of charge.
How far back can I claim? Membership of a South African retirement fund as far back as 1981 can still produce a valid claim. Unclaimed retirement benefits do not expire.
Does the FSCA pay me the money? No. The FSCA gives you the contact details of the fund or administrator holding the benefit, and you claim from the fund directly.
Why do I need a tax number to claim? The fund must obtain a tax directive before it can pay out. Without a tax number, the claim cannot be processed.
What should ex-mineworkers send with an enquiry? Your record of service and your Makhulu Skop clock card, in addition to the usual identity and membership documents.
Is there a deadline for the silicosis and TB settlement? Yes. New claims to the Tshiamiso Trust close on 10 December 2029.
What if my employer deducted contributions but never paid them over? That money never reached a fund, so it will not appear on the register. Ask your fund what it received, then lodge a complaint with the FSCA or the Pension Funds Adjudicator.
