Eskom pension fund pays out R104m Covid-19 relief bonus

The pension fund of state energy utility Eskom has paid out R104.3m in special bonuses as part of a Covid-19 relief effort.

Members of the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund received R3,500 to  R5,425, depending on household income, at the beginning of August. Lower-income households received more.

“After much deliberation and with advice from the fund actuary, the board of trustees took a decision to grant our pensioners a one-off special bonus to the value of 50% of the bonus paid to pensioners in 2019,” said fund CEO and principal officer Linda Mateza.

“The fund has considered that the current crisis may have resulted in the reduction of disposable income in many Eskom Pension and Provident Fund pensioner households, perhaps due to a loss of livelihood of a household member, or increased cost of food and health-care items,” Mateza said.

The pension fund has more than 33,000 pensioners comprising former Eskom employees and their widows who receive a monthly pension from the fund. It has more than R140bn in total assets under management.

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