Retirement Benefit Nomination and Estate Coordination Checklist

A retirement-fund death benefit is not administered like an ordinary bank account or a simple testamentary bequest. The fund’s statutory process, dependant investigation, member nomination and Islamic family objectives must be documented and coordinated without promising a predetermined result.

Educational information only: This is not legal, retirement, tax or Shariah advice. Fund trustees apply applicable law, and qualified professionals should review the family’s circumstances.

1. Identify every retirement fund

Record fund, administrator, employer, membership number and current value. Include preserved, paid-up and former-employer benefits.

2. Confirm the governing rules

Obtain current fund and provider information for death benefits. Record which legal entity makes the allocation decision.

3. Update member details

Check identity, contact, marital and dependant records. Correct inconsistencies with the employer and administrator.

4. Maintain the dependant register

Record spouses, children and other persons financially dependent on the member. Keep evidence of support private and current.

5. Review nominations

Capture nominees, percentages, signing date and provider confirmation. Treat the nomination as evidence for the trustees, not a guaranteed allocation.

6. Separate fund benefits from estate assets

Ask the estate practitioner how the benefit is treated under current law. Do not insert the account value into the distributable estate without review.

7. Record family objectives

Document the member’s support and Islamic-distribution concerns in language that does not misstate trustee discretion or applicable law.

8. Coordinate Shariah advice

Provide the scholar with the fund process, family facts and potential benefit routes. Record conditional guidance and unresolved conflicts.

9. Review beneficiary contact evidence

Keep contact information, identity documents and relationship records accessible to authorised family representatives.

10. Plan the claim process

Record employer, fund and administrator contacts, forms and supporting documents. Identify who will notify the fund after death.

11. Check unclaimed or former funds

Reconcile employment history to current statements. Follow official tracing routes for benefits that are not reflected in the household register.

12. Review tax information

Keep contribution and benefit records for a registered tax practitioner. Do not assume the same treatment applies to every fund or benefit.

13. Align the will and estate file

Use accurate wording that recognises the fund’s statutory process. Remove conflicting statements that claim the will directly controls the allocation.

14. Schedule annual updates

Review the register after marriage, divorce, birth, death, dependency changes and employment moves. Preserve confirmation of each nomination update.

15. Maintain the coordination register

• Fund, administrator and membership

• Dependants and nominations

• Current value and documents

• Legal, tax and Shariah advice

• Claim contacts and review date

Useful official starting points include the FSCA retirement-fund information, the Pension Funds Adjudicator and SARS retirement-fund guidance.

The completed register should help the fund investigate accurate family facts while keeping the estate plan and qualified Shariah advice aligned with the statutory process.