The short answer
If a child is disabled and was financially dependent on the GEPF member, that child would receive a lifelong pension.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
Me and my brother, who was born blind, and I are my late father’s eldest children. My brother was born blind.
My mother and late father were married but later divorced. My father remarried and had two more children with his second wife. He worked for the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and was still employed when he passed away.
My younger half-brother and half-sister received a large sum of money. My sister once told me there was a man looking for all my father’s children, but on the day they were supposed to meet him in town, she claimed there was a storm and he never arrived. I later realised this was not true. Last year, she and my youngest brother received more money, but when I asked her if it was related to the man she mentioned, she stopped speaking to me and my brother. She has refused to share any information about how or where I can find out whether my father left anything for us.
Since we are his eldest children, and given my brother’s disability, I want to ensure we were not unfairly excluded. I need help to get clarity on this situation so I can find peace, especially since my late father was a fair man who treated all his children equally during his lifetime.
The long answer
If he treated all his children equally when he was alive, your father would likely have nominated all his children as beneficiaries of his pension fund.
Those who would qualify for benefits after his death are his spouse and anyone who was financially dependent on him, even if they were not a spouse or a child. The GEPF would investigate to see how dependent that person was.
Children who are not disabled or dependent would qualify for a GEPF child pension up to the age of 22 years. If a child is disabled and was financially dependent on the GEPF member, that child would receive a lifelong pension. The child would have to prove that they are physically or mentally disabled and not able to provide for themselves.
GEPF will perform auto life verification (ALV) once a year. If the ALV fails, a life certificate will be sent to the child. If the life certificate is not returned, the benefit will be suspended.
If you yourself are older than 22 years, you would not qualify for a child pension. But if your blind brother is older than 22 and was dependent on your father, he might still qualify. The GEPF is required to investigate all potential beneficiaries when a GEPF member dies. This may be what your younger sister was talking about when she said that a man was looking for all your father’s children.
Are your younger brother and sister under 22 years? If so, they would have qualified for the GEPF child pension.
According to the GEPF, the benefits owed to all child pensioners will be recalculated based on the number of children claiming if a child pension has already been granted and another child applies and is granted. Benefits for the new child will only start on the day the claim is received. The date the new claim is received will be used to determine if the benefits of the other children need to be reduced.
GEPF says that a Child Pension application form (CHP1), which is available on the GEPF website, must be completed to claim the benefit. They say that each child must apply separately for the benefit, using a separate CHP1 application form and attaching the documentation mentioned in the instructions.
So perhaps the best thing to do is to contact the GEPF, taking your ID and birth certificate as well as your brother’s, to prove that you are your father’s children, and ask them
how your father’s pension was paid out,
if your blind brother qualifies for a lifelong pension and
if so, to help him fill out the form to claim it.
These are the contact details for the GEPF:
Email: [email protected]
Contact person for GEPF in Western Cape: Mario Johns
Email: [email protected]
Address: Buitengracht Centre, 4th Floor, 125 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town, Western Cape
Tel: 080 011 7669
You could also ask an organisation like the Black Sash, which gives free paralegal advice, to help you. These are their contact details:
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Tel (national office): 021 686 6952
Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
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Answered on Sept. 5, 2025, 1:06 p.m.
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