Investigating death benefit cases – a practical guide
24 Jan, 2025

 

Natalie Bowes, Head of Death Benefits at ICTS Death Benefit Services

 

In this 3 part series of articles, I wanted to shed some light on the process behind investigating death cases and determining a fair and equitable distribution of benefits.  Mostly, cases are fairly straight forward, but it’s the not so straightforward cases that require particular care and diligence.  I’ve shared such cases with you in Part 1 of this series and some practical experiences in Part 2.  In Part 3, I now discuss some of the nuanced aspects that need to be considered.

 

Part 3

 

Firstly, let’s look at what Section 37C entails:

 

This is the section of the Pension Funds Act that applies to a benefit payable by the fund upon the death of a member other than a pension benefit which is paid in terms of the rules of the fund.  The Act prescribes what the fund must do when dealing with a death benefit.

 

  • Trustees are required to identify legal, financial, factual and potential dependents of a deceased member.
  • Trustees must consider a number of factors e.g. financial circumstances, living arrangements etc
  • Trustees are required to make a fair and equitable distribution.

 

Investigating death benefits involves several nuanced aspects and some key points to consider are:

 

Beneficiary Verification: Ensuring the identified beneficiary is legitimate and has a valid claim to the death benefit. This may involve verifying identity, relationship to the deceased, and financial dependency on the deceased.

 

Nomination Forms: Did the deceased complete a nomination of beneficiary form and who was included. This document is very important as it assists an investigation when trying to establish who the deceased’s family are.

 

Investigation Process: The investigation would include interviewing all legal dependents of the deceased i.e. spouse/s and major children, any other person who may claim dependency and also a third party (non-family member) who can independently confirm children and spouse/s of the deceased member.

 

Legal Compliance: Following regulatory requirements and ensuring all investigations are conducted within legal boundaries, respecting privacy laws and ethical standards.

 

Historical records: It is imperative that we keep a history and electronic records of the investigations conducted on death claim cases. This assists with any queries or complaints that may arise from the fund, family of the deceased or any adjudicator complaints. Documentation and telephonic interviews must be easy to retrieve when responding to any queries or complaints.

 

Reporting: Reports are drafted taking into account all the information gathered during telephonic interviews, from affidavits obtained and includes living arrangements and financial circumstances. The process flow of reporting must follow the requirements of Section 37C.

 

We have come to the end of our three part series on “Investigating death benefit cases – a practical guide” and I hope that the 3 articles have provided some insight into this topic and will assist you as a fiduciary in carrying out this important responsibility.

 

ENDS

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@Natalie Bowes, ICTS Death Benefit Services
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