The public saga between the Molefi family and Old Mutual has come to end after 11 months of back and forth and fighting over a pension fund that was not paid out.
On Monday, Sebabatso Molefi took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her gratitude and relief over the issue being finally resolved.
“What should’ve been done almost 11 months ago has finally been done. Thank you South Africa. Mama has received every single cent OWED to her. Rea leboha,” Molefi said on X.
What was the issue?
In March, Molefi took to X and expressed her dissatisfaction with Old Mutual over the fact that her diseased dad’s pension had not been paid to her mother in its entirety.
Her post went viral and led to several South Africans standing behind the young professional and her mother’s plight at the hands of Old Mutual.
Social media uproar
The post also sparked outrage and led to numerous people taking to social media to express their own issues with Old Mutual and their inability to pay out when required to do so.
The company felt huge pressure, as there were calls to boycott the company and many expressing that “Old Mutual must fall”.
Old Mutual then called an emergency media briefing to address the complex nature of the Molefi pension fund matter, saying the matter was complicated due to a divorce decree with the family.
A representative for Old Mutual told IOL News at the time that the issue was complicated and had given the Molefi family and their lawyers two options to discuss and come back to the table.
A divorce made the case complicated
The Molefi case involved a divorce decree on pension assets, that was received after a customer's retirement had been processed.
“We were not informed that the customer was divorced at the time of processing his retirement. At retirement, a portion was taken in cash with the remainder paid into an annuity as legally required by the Pension Funds Act,” said Old Mutual’s director of public affairs, Celiwe Ross.
She explained the process that Old Mutual had to follow in this case.
“Pre-retirement, divorce orders can entitle non-member spouses to a portion of pension assets in a lump sum, though these are taxable if withdrawn in cash. Post retirement, the allowed format is a portion of the member's annuity income.
“It was always Old Mutuals intention and commitment to facilitate a settlement between the individuals involved. However, we needed to ensure that in facilitating the pay-out, we complied with the pension funds law and tax law,” Ross explained.
Almost, two months later, the Molefi saga is over. IOL Business reached out to Old Mutual on Monday after Molefi said on Twitter that the insurer had paid her mom.
IOL Business has also reached out to Molefi to see if she would like to expand on this issue and her thoughts on the use of social media to create change and hold those in power to task.
This is a developing story.
IOL BUSINESS