A woman who inherited assets worth R5.8m from her late brother's estate has lost her bid to prevent his long-term life partner from receiving nearly half of his R8.3m pension fund death benefit.

This after the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator ruled that the fund had correctly recognised the long-term girlfriend a legal dependant.

The dispute centred on the distribution of the death benefit following the death of a member of the Corporate Selection Umbrella Retirement Fund in May 2024, reports IoL.

The deceased's sister, together with her two children, challenged the fund's decision to award 45% of the benefit to a woman identified only as ‘M’, whom the trustees found to be the deceased's permanent life partner.

The complainants argued that the deceased had nominated his sister as the sole beneficiary in 2005 and that ‘M’ did not qualify as a permanent life partner under the law.

The fund's board ultimately allocated 45% of the death benefit to the sister, 45% to ‘M’, and the remaining 10% equally between the deceased's niece and nephew.

The complainants maintained that the deceased and ‘M’ had never shared a household, had no joint bank accounts or financial interdependence, and that there was no evidence of a committed romantic relationship.

They further contended that WhatsApp messages exchanged between the pair reflected nothing more than a friendship.

The retirement fund, however, presented evidence painting a very different picture.

According to the fund, the deceased and ‘M’ had been in a relationship for approximately 20 years and had lived together at his Sandton home from July 2023 until his death. Before then, they allegedly alternated between his home and her residence in Rivonia.

The fund relied on witness statements describing the pair as living together in a committed romantic relationship, according to IoL.

It also submitted evidence that the deceased had assumed a fatherly role towards ‘M's’ son and had provided financial support averaging R15 000 a month.

While the trustees accepted that the deceased had also financially supported his sister by contributing about R12 000 a month towards groceries and medication, and had assisted her children with vehicles and travel expenses, they noted that she had already inherited substantially from his estate.

Apart from the pension, the sister received assets valued at R5.8m and also benefited from the sale of the family home and insurance policies.

Full IoL report