The FSCA has published the names of 6 064 employers that have contravened section 13A of the Pension Funds Act, by not paying their employees retirement benefits to pension funds.
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The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) says 6 064 employers have been defaulting on their payments to retirement funds on behalf of their employees, with total arrears of R8,33 billion.
The FSCA said it has published the names of the 6 064 employers reported to the FSCA as having contravened section 13A of the Pension Funds Act (PFA).
According to previous reports, the two-pot system exposed numerous employers who had been deducting pension contributions from employees' salaries but had failed to remit those funds to retirement funds, with outstanding contributions totaling billions of rands.
“Current data suggests that the severity of arrears is increasing, with late payment interest increasing by 21,5%, compared with a 9% increase in the capital portion of arrears. This indicates that outstanding contributions are remaining unpaid for longer periods and continuing to accumulate interest,” the FSCA said.
“The communication is the fifth in a series of publications that commenced in June 2022, with the intention of promoting transparency, alerting affected members and stakeholders, and encouraging employers and pension funds to address outstanding contributions timeously,” the FSCA said.
The employers being reported for non-compliance over the preceding periods had more than tripled, increasing from 23 funds and 5,430 employers in April 2023 to 75 funds and 16,556 employers as at February 28, 2026.
Of these, the names of 6,064 defaulting employers were included, based on the severity and duration of the reported arrears. The total arrears of about R8,33bn affected about 590,000 retirement fund members.
“This represents an increase of R1,04bn or 14,2% from the R7,29bn reported as at March 31, 2025,” the FSCA said.
Notably, late payment interest now accounts for 43,5% of total arrears.
Entities participating in local government funds account for 21,5% of total arrears, while those participating in bargaining council funds contribute 76,9%.
Arrears by municipalities in the North-West and Free State provinces were the most significant within the local government sector, collectively accounting for 79,4% of all municipal arrears.
Since the FSCA’s first publication of defaulting employers, total recoveries had reached R1,01bn, representing approximately 12,1% of the estimated arrears.
More than 200 employer records had moved into a more favourable compliance position since the previous publication in September 2025. This includes full or partial settlement of arrears, settlement arrangements, or voluntary termination following business closure, the FSCA said.
In the local government sector, interventions by the National Treasury to withhold equitable share allocations from persistently non-compliant municipalities had begun to improve the regularity of contribution payments. “This underscores the value of continued inter-agency collaboration in addressing arrear contributions and protecting retirement fund members,” the FSCA said.
The FSCA said it would continue with collaborative efforts with key stakeholders, including the Auditor General, National Treasury, National Prosecuting Authority, and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, to strengthen enforcement against, and ensure accountability of, employers and their directors for non-compliance.
Non-payment of these benefits to the pension fund is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to R10m, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both, with both directors and senior management able to be held personally liable.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has previously described the retail motor industry as the “worst offender”, indicating that there has been a 50% increase in non-compliant employers to the Auto Workers Provident Fund and the Motor Industry Provident Fund, affecting the accounts of more than 9,000 employees.
According to the FSCA, there is also roughly R88bn in financial assets sitting unclaimed across South Africa, and the motor industry holds a significant share.
“Thousands of workers are unaware they are owed money through pension funds, severance packages, arrear wages, death and ill-health benefits, and 'hidden' entitlements such as Additional Holiday Pay. These funds are often left untouched because workers change jobs, change phone numbers, or were simply never told the money existed. Yet the money remains theirs and can be claimed at any time,” Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) general secretary Paulos Masemola said in a statement last month.
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