Discovery Does Not Know How To Handle Pension Fund Transferals

Never did I think that transferring funds from my previous retirement fund to Discovery would be such a tiresome and difficult process. I usually do not like writing reviews about services that I use, but I will spend time and document how difficult it is to do something as simple as transferring funds from a previous retirement fund to Discovery.

I wanted to transfer my retirement funds from Old Mutual SuperFund to my new retirement fund at Discovery (which my Employer contributes to on my behalf). When I start the process from Old Mutual's side, their tool requests that I upload a Proposal Form. Old Mutual insists that this proposal form is necessary to initiate the process. Old Mutual advises that I contact Discovery to get the Proposal Form. When I call Discovery Retirement Funds, they tell me that they do not issue a Proposal Form, and they do not know what it is. Discovery says I should contact Old Mutual and at another point, contact my previous employer.

I have called Discovery numerous times, and the answer has always been the same: They don't know what a Proposal Form is, and that I should speak to Old Mutual. I have asked around, and some people who have gone through the process with other service providers have mentioned that a proposal form is necessary to initiate the process.

This experience has gotten me to think about how broken the financial system is. If you want to withdraw money from pension funds via the two-pot system provision, the process is very easy and seamless because it is an easy tax grab and admin-fees grab. Buying insurance products is very easy. But, if you want to be responsible with your finances, the process is very difficult and one has to go through hoops to get things done. I am now stuck with a pension fund that I cannot move to my new retirement fund with Discovery because Discovery does not know what a Proposal Form is and the process behind this. Will have to check with other service providers and see if my Employer allows me to manage my retirement funds separately so I can consolidate all my funds. Disappointed at Discovery.