Fund Info
The University of the Witwatersrand Retirement Fund (“UWRF”) commenced on 1 January 1995.
The UWRF is registered with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the FSCA registration number is 12/8/31841.
The registered office of the UWRF is at the University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg.
The UWRF is a “defined contribution” Fund. The Rules of defined contribution Funds apportion responsibility of who must make the contribution (for example, you and your employer) to the Fund and this largely determines what you will get out of the Fund. The Rules also prescribe how much must be contributed to the Fund each month.
The benefit that you are entitled to when you retire depends on the amount that has been contributed over time and what the investment growth has been. It is not guaranteed that you will have enough money to live on when you have retired. When the investment markets grow, the value of your Share of Fund grows. When the investment markets drop, the value of your Share of Fund also drops, which will be dependent on the portfolio that you are invested in.
It is important that you invest for your retirement over many years and that your money is invested in the right way if you want to make sure that you have saved enough money for your retirement. Because the UWRF is a defined contribution fund, the risks of generating investment growth in the financial markets rest with you and not your employer.
The UWRF Rules stipulate eligibility of membership. If you are eligible to be a member of the UWRF, you must belong to the Fund. An eligible employee means any employee who is in service of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and who:
- is under the normal retirement age; and
- is not a temporary worker whose employment contract is valid for a period of less than 12 months.
How much is paid into the fund on my behalf?
Members are not required to contribute to the UWRF.
The University contributes 23.5% of your Retirement Funding Income (RFI) into the Fund each month, in respect of retirement benefits, insured benefits and expenses, on your behalf.
You can structure your RFI to be any percentage of your gross remuneration package subject to a minimum of 55% and a maximum of 100% of your gross remuneration package. If you choose a lower RFI, it will result in lower savings towards retirement and lower death and disability benefits. You may alter your percentage at the beginning of each calendar year.
What happens to these contributions?
You will have a personal account in the Fund known as a Share of the Fund.
The University’s contributions of 23.5% of your RFI, minus the costs of insurance benefits and Fund expenses, are paid into your Share of the Fund on a monthly basis.
Your Share of the Fund is then allocated to the investment portfolio that you have chosen. The investment returns on your Share of Fund is dependent on your investment portfolio, which is directly related to market performance.
The growth or loss on the investment portfolios that your retirement savings in the UWRF are invested in has a big impact on the Share of Fund that you get one day when you retire or leave the Fund.
Additional voluntary contributions
The University’s contributions are added to your salary as a taxable fringe benefit. You can claim a tax deduction on contributions to all the pension, provident and retirement annuity Funds that you belong to, up to the higher of 27.5% of your remuneration and R350 000 every year.
If you contribute more than R350 000 in a year, the excess is added to your contributions in future years and will be deductible in future years if it is within the limits of that year. At retirement, if there are any contributions that you did not get a deduction on, this will be added to the tax-free amount you are entitled to on retirement or the amount you take as a pension.
The Rules of the Fund allow you to contribute an additional 4% of your RFI to the Fund, so that you can take advantage of the maximum tax deduction.
The Board of Trustees (the Board) runs the Fund. The Board is guided by the law and the Rules of the Fund. There are eight board members – the University appoints four Trustees and the members elect Four Trustees.
The Board of Trustees effective, 26 August 2021 appointed by the employer and elected by the members is as follows:
| Name | Position on Board | Email Address |
| Kgomotso Kasonkola | Employer Appointed, Chairperson | kgomotso.kasonkola1@wits.ac.za |
| Christo Auret | Employer Appointed | Christo.Auret@wits.ac.za |
| Daniel Gozo | Employer Appointed | Daniel.Gozo@wits.ac.za |
| Clement Marumoagae | Employer Appointed | Clement.Marumoagae@wits.ac.za |
| Tumishi Madihlaba | Member Elected, Vice-Chairperson | Tumishi.Madihlaba@wits.ac.za |
| Engela Schlemmer | Member Elected | EngelaC.Schlemmer@wits.ac.za |
| Garth Stevens | Member Elected | Garth.Stevens@wits.ac.za |
| Dannielle Cerebone | Member Elected | dannielle.cerbone@wits.ac.za |
The Fund is supported by the Principal Officer, Mr Jeremy Gill (jeremy@jjgconsulting.co.za)
The Fund requires the services of third-party providers in order to function efficiently and effectively, which include the following:
- Fund Administrator: Ensimini Administration Services;
- Fund Consultant: NMG Employee Benefits (Pty) Ltd;
- Investment Consultant: Mosaic Investment Consulting (Pty) Ltd;
- Actuarial Services: NMG Consultants and Actuaries (Pty) Ltd
- Risk Insurer: Sanlam Limited Insurance Group and Old Mutual Assurance Company;
- Auditor: Pricewaterhouse Coopers Inc;
- Tracing Agent: Sure-Data (Pty) Ltd
- Beneficiary Fund: Fairheads Umbrella Beneficiary Fund;
The Rules of the Fund set out the benefit structure and the powers of the Board in managing the Fund. The Rules are registered by the FSCA and approved by South African Revenue Services (SARS).
Please click here to download the report on the Statutory Actuarial Valuation as at 1 January 2022;
Please click here to download the report on the Statutory Actuarial Valuation as at 1 January 2019;
Please click here to download the report on the Statutory Actuarial Valuation as at 1 January 2016;
Please click here to download the report on the Statutory Actuarial Valuation as at 1 January 2013;
Please click here to download the report on the Statutory Actuarial Valuation as at 1 January 2010;
Please click here to download the report on the Statutory Actuarial Valuation as at 1 January 2007;
Please click here to download the report on the Statutory Actuarial Valuation as at 1 January 2004;
It is important to us that we keep your personal information safe as this is integral to your financial wellbeing. The Pension Funds Act, other legislation and regulatory standards require that the UWRF and its providers collect and process your personal information that it receives from you and your employer so that the UWRF and its providers can provide services to you and your beneficiaries in connection with the Fund.
Please refer to the Fund’s Promotion of Access to Information and Data Subject Participation Manual (“Manual”) and Data Protection Policy. These documents set out:
- the details of the Fund’s Information Officer;
- the Fund’s purposes for processing your personal information;
- what types of personal information the Fund processes;
- any justifications the Fund relies on to process your personal information;
- your rights with respect to personal information;
- how to access personal information from the Fund;
- who we receive your personal information from;
- how to complain to the Fund in relation to your personal information;
- the Fund’s retention policy; and
- other useful disclosures and information about how we process personal information.
You can access the Fund’s Manual and Data Protection Policy via the Fund’s Principal Officer, whose details are included under “Board of Trustees”.
The Fund may be required to keep personal information related to you, former members and beneficiaries for many years, even long after you have left the Fund.
An annual general meeting of the members shall be held each Fund year, at a date and place determined by the Board, for the purpose of providing or receiving feedback on any Fund related matter which the Board deems appropriate.
2023
Notice of AGM – 21 November 2023
Schedule F and Schedule G of the 2022 AFS
2022
AGM Minutes – 29 November 2022
Notice of AGM – 29 November 2022
Schedule F and Schedule G of the 2021 AFS
2021
Notice of AGM – 24 February 2022
AGM Minutes – 24 February 2022
2020
Principal Officer’s Report AGM 2020
2019
The 2019 AGM did not take place due to the delay in the member Trustee election process and as such, the AGM was postponed till 27 February 2021