Transnet pensioners to get R178m boost

Retired Transnet employees belonging to two of the company’s biggest defined benefit pension funds will receive bonus payments or thirteenth cheques totalling R178 million, taking the total paid to pensioners in ad hoc bonuses to R356 million over the last six months.   



Transnet, the Transnet Second Defined Benefit Fund (TSDBF) and the Transnet Sub-Fund of the Transport Pension Fund (TTPF) on Tuesday announced that each of  about 67 000 pensioners and beneficiaries would be paid an ad hoc bonus equalling 8.33% of their annual individual benefit by the end of April.



This is the second such payment in the last six months. In November last year, the two funds paid another combined R178 million in ad hoc bonuses to pensioners.  



The total value of ad hoc bonuses paid by the TTPF and TSDBF to their beneficiaries since 2007 adds up to R142 million and R1 912 billion respectively.



These amounts exclude the R448 million in ex gratia bonus payments by Transnet to  qualifying beneficiaries, prioritising widows of former black employees and those with long service and therefore no other income. The former were excluded from joining or contributing to the pension funds because of South Africa’s past apartheid laws. Transnet has been making ex gratia bonus payments to qualifying beneficiaries since June 2007.