How to check if you're eligible for unclaimed benefits

Could you be one of the South Africans entitled to a share of the estimated R89 billion in unclaimed benefits held by financial institutions?

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Operations manager at Just Money Sarah Nicholson says unclaimed benefits are financial assets or payouts not collected by the rightful recipient within a specified time frame.

These include:

Retirement and pension-related benefits, such as unclaimed pension and provident funds, retirement annuities, preservation funds and unpaid death or disability benefits.

Insurance payouts, funeral policies, endowment policies and income protection benefits.

Investment and bank accounts, such as dormant bank accounts, unit trust investments, estate funds, bonds, unclaimed shares and dividends.

You may unknowingly hold shares through a BEE scheme at a former workplace.

Employee and government benefits, that include workplace compensation, Unemployment Insurance Fund benefits, state social grants and education funds.

Why are benefits unclaimed?