Question:
I worked at Auto Trader from 2003 to 2004 in a permanent position and during that period, as per usual, I made contributions to the (UIF) and also to a Liberty Life policy which I terminated just before I resigned. I have lost all the documentation and never withdrew anything.

What has happened to the money that I contributed towards both? How do I find out and how do I claim it?

I have never been issued with a UIF card, maybe because I am not a South African citizen? I do, however, have permanent residence.

Answer:
Changing jobs can be chaotic and is often filled with excitement and anxiety. It is little surprise that we often alert ourselves to the things that 'fell through the cracks' at a later stage.

Your situation is an interesting one, albeit surprisingly common. Although there are some very specific considerations that require more detailed information, there are some broad guidelines that could be of assistance.

First, let’s deal with the UIF scenario:

Benefits may be claimed for any period of unemployment lasting more than 14 days, if —

• The reason for the unemployment is the termination of a contract of employment, dismissal of the contributor or insolvency;

• Application is made in accordance with the prescribed requirements;

• The contributor is registered as a work-seeker with a labour centre established under the Skills Development Act;

• The contributor is capable of and available for work.

Credits are given to you (the worker) as you work and contribute to the Fund. For every six days you have worked you get one day’s credit (up to a maximum of 238 days). This means that in order to have built up the maximum credits, you would need to have worked (and contributed) for a total of four years.

When considering benefit amounts and percentages, all eligible claimants used to receive a fixed benefit of 45 percent of his or her salary (up to the set maximum). This has been amended where benefits are now calculated on a sliding scale dependent on your salary. These scales range from 38 percent for highly paid workers (approximately R100 000 per annum and above) to 58 percent for the lowest paid workers.

There are a number of exclusions that may apply where a contributor will not be eligible for benefits. The most notable and relevant in your case is that of non-eligibility as a result of voluntary resignation.

So, although you did not qualify for these benefits, what it should mean (provided your current employer is complying with the UIF legislation), is that your 'credits' should still be accumulating within the fund and in the event of unemployment you will benefit accordingly for the number of days worked up to the stipulated maximum of 238 days.

When considering the Liberty life policy, the ultimate determinant of whether there is anything to claim or not would be to explore what type of policy it was. It could have been what is known as a pure life (or New Generation) policy where the entire premium goes towards risk and therefore there will be no saving accumulation (much like the way a short-term insurance policy works). It could also have been a Retirement Annuity of sorts where there may be some fund accumulation available. With the exception of specific exclusions, this money will be available from age 55. Finally, it could have been an endowment policy where there may very well be funds available for withdrawal immediately.

My only advice for this would be to contact a Certified Financial Planner who will not only be able to confirm what type of policy it is, but also present the various options you may have available to you as well as any likely implications of any decisions that you need to make.

All the best.

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