The High Court in Gauteng heard a dispute filed by a widow over the distribution of her late husband’s R7.68 million (approximately KSh 59.9 million) pension payout by the Telkom Retirement Fund.

Because the deceased had not completed a beneficiary nomination form, the fund allocated 50% of the benefit to the widow, 20% each to the two children, and 10% to the deceased’s mother, amounting to R768,000 (about KSh 5.99 million).

The widow argued that the fund failed to properly assess the mother‑in‑law’s financial need, noting she lives in a retirement village and receives monthly pensions from her own fund and from her late husband’s estate.

She proposed reducing the mother‑in‑law’s share to 2% of the total benefit, contending that the existing income and living arrangements rendered a 10% allocation excessive.

The court identified significant gaps in the fund’s assessment, including the lack of a formal capital‑needs analysis, no verification of the deceased’s brother’s claim about supporting the mother, and no investigation into the mother‑in‑law’s own estate resources.

While the judgment acknowledged that the mother‑in‑law could be a future dependant, it rejected the widow’s 2% proposal because it lacked sufficient supporting evidence and justification.

The court’s decision underscores the requirement for retirement funds to conduct thorough, evidence‑based assessments of dependants’ financial circumstances when a deceased member has not nominated beneficiaries.