The number of employers - including municipalities - defaulting on pension, medical aid, provident and retirement fund contributions has more than doubled over the past three years, affecting nearly 600,000 employees, with outstanding contributions exceeding R7bn.
According to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority FSCA, which regulates the countrys financial institutions, the number of defaulters surged from 4,000 in 2023 - when employment labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth gazetted a determination exempting employers who failed to pay contributions on time - to 7,700 in 2024 and 15,521 in 2025.
In the Government Gazette published on January 13, Meth stated she was withdrawing the determination gazetted in December 2023, which excluded the application of section 34A of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act BCEA to employers and employees in respect of the payment of contributions to any benefit fund regulated under the Pension Funds Act.
