According to the fund itself, more than six out of ten employers participating in the Private Security Sector Pension Fund (PSSPF) remain non-compliant. This comes as the Pension Fund Arbitrator reported registering 6,453 complaints related to the scheme in just one year.
In a notice addressed to employers, PSSPF acknowledged that 'over 61% of employers' do not adhere to rules regarding contributions, but thanked companies that submit pension contributions and contribution schedules on time.
The fund emphasizes that timely deductions guarantee the ability to process and pay old-age, disability, and death benefits without hindrance.
This admission aligns with criticism from the Office of the Pension Fund Arbitrator (OPFA), whose annual report for 2025/26 identifies serious shortcomings in the fund's monitoring of employers and its response to unpaid contributions.
PSSPF accounted for 49% of the 13,041 complaints received by the arbitrator during the financial year, making it responsible for nearly as many complaints as all other pension funds combined.
Arbitrator expresses opinion
The most frequent complaints concerned instances where employers failed to make deductions for pension contributions withheld from security guards' salaries. Other recurring issues included unreceived old-age benefits, delays in processing withdrawals, and incorrect participant records.
However, the arbitrator also holds the fund responsible for its inability to identify and rectify employer non-compliance. The report states: 'Weaknesses were identified in management, including the absence of an effective system for monitoring and detecting employer non-payment, which led to an inability to take timely action against debtors.'
It also mentions: 'Participants are forced to pursue the repayment of contribution arrears themselves, while the fund neglects its duties prescribed in the FSCA Code of Conduct 1 of 2022.'
The fund's acknowledgment that over 61% of employers are non-compliant does not specify how many of them are failing to pay contributions, unlike violations of other administrative requirements. Nevertheless, in its notice, the fund directly links employer compliance to the timely payment of contributions and submission of schedules.
Figures
The arbitrator's findings also show that PSSPF constituted 75.6% of cases where relief was granted among the 20 pension funds listed in its analysis. The entire pension fund industry showed that employer non-payment of contributions amounted to 61.48% of investigated and closed complaints in 2025/26, while withdrawal benefits accounted for another 22.93%.
These two categories together represented approximately 84% of closed complaint categories. The report notes that these complaints often overlap: employees sometimes discover that their employers have not paid pension contributions only when they attempt to withdraw their funds.
The implementation of South Africa's two-container pension system in September 2024 revealed some of these problems. This system allows pension fund members to withdraw part of their savings before retirement, but the arbitrator argues that attempts to claim benefits exposed outstanding contributions, inaccurate participant records, and administrative failures.
OPFA received a record 13,041 complaints during the financial year, which is 26% more than the 10,331 in the previous year. The arbitrator warns that unpaid contributions can affect not only pension savings. Death, disability, and funeral benefits may also be compromised if the premiums supporting these benefits are not paid.
Unpleasant sight
In a separate notification to PSSPF participants, its administrator Salt Employee Benefits announced that it began contacting participants who made payments or are in good standing starting March 2, 2026, to assist them in accessing savings held in the fund. This outreach program concerns access to existing benefits and does not relate to the arbitrator's findings regarding employer unpaid contributions.
OPFA also warns that delays in ensuring compliance may limit the recovery of unpaid contributions due to statutes of limitations and expiry periods.
Changes introduced in January 2026 empower labour inspectors to enforce certain requirements related to pension contributions, while proposed amendments to labour legislation may expand enforcement powers to the CCMA, Labour Court, and bargaining councils.
During 2025/26, the arbitrator concluded a record 11,047 complaints and issued monetary orders totaling approximately 99.76 million rand.