Momentum Disorganisation/Poor service delivery in conducting Pension Payout

The company I previously worked for partnered with Momentum to house employees Provident Funds. I resigned and completed my FundsAtWork instruction process to obtain those funds on 2nd December 2024. It was said the entire process including having the tax proportions deducted by SARS would take 14 working days.

14 Working days should have meant that I received my payout on 23 December 2024. After spending the last 10 days trying to reach the department handling the process I come to learn that as a company handling affairs related to people's lives, they deem it fit to close between 20 December and 2nd January 2025.

Once I finally get through to them on 2nd January I am told that there has been a backlog. Without being fully transparent regarding what this means for the processing of my claim I was left to drag information out of the consultant.

This was the email I sent in the hopes of getting an honest answer:

Good Day,

After having completed the set instructions on 2nd December expecting to receive my payout on 23 December 2023, you've communicated that the delay is due to a backlog.

1. Please advise what the timeframe for receiving the funds is?

2. Please clarify what is meant by "the claim being sent for review and processing?"

Am I to assume that this means you will be making me wait another supposed 14 working days to submit to SARS and processing a claim made on 2nd December a full month later? Or does it mean that the SARS section is already complete and you now need to process it to my banking account?

Kind Regards, Rhesa Vaughan

I then received the following reply: Hi Rhesa

The disinvestment process takes between 5- 7 days whereafter we will apply for a tax directive from SARS.

SARS normally responds within 24 - 48 hours with feedback.

You are welcome to follow up with me directly by next week Thursday for an update. My email address: ******@momentum.co.za.

I will closely monitor your case.

Regards ******x Client Service FAW and Group Insurance

Sharecall ***Fax ***E-mail *** www.momentum.co.za

This meant that since 2nd December they had not touched my claim and left me thinking I'd be receiving my funds within 14 working days from 2nd December.

In spite have 13 working days before their ridiculous December closing date to at least complete the disinvestment process with SARS, my claim sat there for a full month resulting me being told on 2nd January that they will begin the disinvestment process now and I can follow up next Thursday.

Momentum won't be getting my business that's for sure!