Section 37 A of the Pension Funds Act was amended through the Maintenance Act, section 50(2) by replacing the reference to “…Maintenance Act, 1963 (Act No 23 of 1963)…” with Maintenance Act, 2003 (Act No 9 of 2003)…”

Section 28 (5) of the Maintenance Act stipulates “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, any pension, annuity or compassionate allowance or other similar benefit is liable to be attached or subjected to execution under a warrant of execution or an order issued or made under this Part in order to satisfy a maintenance order.”

Thus, an order made by a maintenance court, attaching any pension fund benefit of a member must be acted upon by a pension fund when we serve a warrant of execution. The question that begs to be answered though is whether this refers only to recurring payments, which we believe it does, or to lump sum pension fund benefits as well. Anyone prepared to venture an expert opinion?

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This article summarises the understanding, observation and notes of the author and lays no claim on accuracy, correctness or completeness. Retirement Fund Solutions Namibia (Pty) Ltd does not accept any liability for the content of this contribution and no decision should be taken on the basis of the information contained herein before having confirmed the detail with the relevant party. Any views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Retirement Fund Solutions.