Former Mineworker Is Accusing Financial Service Provider Of Allegedly Trying To Trap Him In South Africa. A retired mine worker from Lesotho is accusing Metropolitan of attempting to entrap him in South Africa.
A retired mine worker from Lesotho is accusing Metropolitan of attempting to entrap him in South Africa. This was after the financial services allegedly declined to offer him the remainder of his savings. 65-year-old Johannes Moleleki was planning to head back to Lesotho for quite some time. He was planning to do so since he retired in 2013.
However, the fight he had with the financial services firm has kept him in South Africa for a long time. He states that the firm has been declining to give him entry into his R250 000 pension fund money due to the legislation in South Africa being against his request of having all his money given to him at once. The 65-year-old who lives at Orange Farm in Johannesburg came to the country in 1973 to find a better opportunity. He started a life cover policy with the organisation in 2013, he then went to the company in 2018, after he retired, to ask them to withdraw all of his money so that he could head to Lesotho.
The man gets R1800 every month from the remainder R250 000, which is sent to his Absa bank account. He got a lump sum of R113 000 in 2013. “I just want to go home. I am tired of being here. I just want all my money so I can go home to my family. We don’t have Absa in Lesotho. That means I will have to come here every month to withdraw money and go back to Lesotho whem am I going to get the money for transport?” The man says they told him that the South African law only lets them give him money on a monthly basis because he’ll waste it all if it were given to him once.
Ronita Basson, the Metropolitan head of annuities, says the 65-year-old bought a compulsory annuity with funds. “Mr Moleki purchased a compulsory annuity with funds that originated from his Transnet Retirement Fund. The objective of an annuity is to save for retirement and to receive a regular income once retired,” says the Metropolitan head annuities. Ronita Basson went on to say that the South African legislation allows a third of money in the retirement fund may be given as a lump sum, the rest should then be offered over time to give the client a regular income. Johannes Moleki had already received his lump sum, according to the Metropolitan head of annuities.
by Alexandra Ramaite
