The Pension Funds Act, (Section 13A(9)(a)), makes it an obligation of a retirement fund to request participating employers in writing to notify the fund of the identity of the person or persons who are personally liable for the payment of contributions.
In terms of Section 13A(8) of the Act, these persons are qualified as:
- in the case of a company, every director who is regularly involved in the management of the company’s overall financial affairs;
- in the case of a close corporation, every member who controls or is regularly involved in the management of the close corporation’s overall financial affairs; and
- in the case of any other employer, every person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the governing body or structure of the employer acts or who controls or who is regularly involved in the management of the employer’s overall financial affairs.
The Act further stipulates (Section 13A(9)(b)), that if an employer fails to notify the fund of the identity of the person or persons who are personally liable for the payment of contributions, all the directors in the case of a company, all the members regularly involved in the management of the corporation in the case of a close corporation, or all the persons comprising the governing body in the case of any other employer, shall be personally liable for the payment of contributions.
It is accordingly in employers’ own interest to notify the fund of the identity of the relevant persons as all the aforesaid persons would otherwise be personally liable for the payment of contributions, and could in terms of the provisions of the Pension Funds Act potentially face both civil and criminal liability.
Kindly make use of the form attached below to supply the requested information as a matter of urgency.