Pensioners who belong to the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) will receive a 5.5% pension increase on 1 April.
Pensioners who retired on or before 1 April 2021 will receive the full increase, while pensioners who retired after 1 April 2021 will receive a proportionate increase based on the number of months in which they have received a pension by 31 March 2022, the GEPF said in a statement this week.
It said the increase was based on the 5.5% inflation rate for the 12 months to the end of November 2021, thus making the increase higher than the 75% of CPI provided in terms of the Government Employees Pension Law and rules.
“The GEPF has granted this increase to enable pensioners to keep up with rises in inflation. These increases are based on the affordability of the fund at the given time. An affordable increase is one that can be granted without placing a strain on the sustainability of the fund, including current needs and future financial health of the fund, in order to continue paying benefits that are promised to our members,” the fund said.
According to the GEPF’s 2020/21 annual report, 312 647 pensioners and 160 665 spouses were receiving a monthly pension as at 31 March last year, a decrease from 313 173 and 163 603, respectively, from 2020.
The GEPF paid monthly annuities totalling R56.3 billion (2020: R51.2bn) in 2021.
The fund had 1 265 406 (2020: 1 269 161) active members and 6 171 (2020: 3 839) minor beneficiaries.
