HR & Payroll
Retirement Fund Contributions
Money deducted for retirement funds is held in trust — short or late remittance is a breach and a fruitless-expenditure risk.
Why withheld fund deductions must be remitted in full and on time
Pension and provident fund contributions deducted from an employee's salary are held in trust and must be paid over to the fund promptly under the Pension Funds Act; late or short remittance is both a breach and, in the public sector, a potential irregular-expenditure and fruitless-expenditure exposure where penalties arise. The gap between what is withheld from employees and what reaches the fund is a classic place for cash-flow misuse and reconciliation breakdown. AuditPro Core tracks deductions withheld against amounts remitted per fund and period so any shortfall or delay is visible immediately.
The Numbers
AuditPro Core renders this view from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records. The figures below are illustrative sample data.
Deducted
R 84.2 m
Remitted
R 81.0 m
▼ shortfall
Unremitted > 30d
R 3.2 m
Funds affected
4
Deducted vs remitted by month
Unremitted contributions by fund
| Fund | Shortfall | Ageing |
|---|---|---|
| GEPF | R 1.4 m | 31-60 days |
| Municipal Gratuity | R 1.1 m | 61-90 days |
| SALA Pension | R 0.7 m | 31-60 days |
Figures shown are illustrative sample data for demonstration. AuditPro Core renders these views from your own tenant's live, tamper-evident records.
Deductions are trust money
Once a contribution is withheld from salary it belongs to the fund member, not the employer. Using it for operating cash flow, even briefly, is a misappropriation of trust funds.
Employer and employee portions
Both the member deduction and the employer contribution must reach the fund. Reconciliation must account for both legs, not only the amount visible on the payslip.
Timeliness and the seven-day rule
The Pension Funds Act requires contributions to be paid over within a set period after deduction. Late payment attracts interest and exposes responsible officials personally under the Act.
Reconciliation to the fund schedule
The amount remitted must match the contribution schedule the fund actually applies to members' records. A break here means members may be under-credited even when payroll looks correct.
How AuditPro Core Bridges the Gap
- Withheld-versus-remitted reconciliation: employee deductions and employer contributions are matched to amounts paid over to each fund per period.
- Timeliness monitoring: remittances are aged against the statutory deadline, flagging late payments that may attract interest or personal liability.
- Exception workflow: shortfalls and missing fund schedules are raised for resolution before they compound across periods.
- Traceability to source: each remittance links to the payroll deductions and the fund's contribution schedule for end-to-end assurance.
Key Takeaways
- Withheld contributions are trust money — never a source of operating cash flow.
- Reconcile both the employee deduction and the employer contribution to the fund.
- Late remittance breaches the Pension Funds Act and can attract personal liability.
- The fund's own contribution schedule is the reconciliation target, not just the payslip.
See This on Your Own Data
AuditPro Core renders this dashboard from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records — every figure traceable to source.