University Of Cape Town Retirement Fund

University Of Cape Town Retirement Fund, The University of Cape Town Retirement Fund (UCTRF), established with a commencement date of 1 January 1995, is a ‘savings plan’ constructedby the employer to help you save for retirement. Every month UCT pays a percentage of your salary into the UCTRF on your behalf, which will earn returns for you to use when you have retired and are no longer earning a salary. The UCTRF was therefore created to provide members with benefits should they leave the employ of the University of Cape Town or at retirement. But more than that, the UCTRF provides benefits to members should they become disabled, or to the families of deceased members.

The UCTRF is a Defined Contribution Provident Fund. Defined Contribution meaning that the benefit you will receive on retirement depends on the contributions you make monthly to your retirement savings and the investment returns (positive or negative) earned on this money.

What is a Provident Fund?

A Provident Fund is a fund which allows you to take your entire retirement benefit in cash when you exit the UCTRF. In a Pension Fund arrangement, only one third is allowed to be taken in cash at retirement. For more information on your options at retirement, please see the Retirement Benefits section.
In addition to providing retirement benefits, the UCTRF also provides resignation, retrenchment, death and disability benefits. The UCTRF is registered as a Provident Fund. This gives you flexibility because you can decide how much of your benefit you want as a lump sum and/or pension.

Membership of the UCTRF

If you are a permanent employee of the University of Cape Town, the Cape Higher Education Consortium or the Tertiary Education And Research Network Of South Africa or an employee with a fixed-term contract of longer than 2 years, you will automatically become a member of the UCTRF on appointment. Membership of the UCTRF is obligatory and a condition of employment.

The UCTRF has a few membership categories. The membership category will, for example, affect the death benefit the member will be covered for. Please refer to the Death Benefits section for more on this.

Who owns the UCTRF?

The UCTRF is a separate legal entity. This means that it does not belong to the employer or the administrator. It is registered with the Financial Services Board (FSB). The FSB ensures that the UCTRF is well managed in accordance with the Pension Funds Act and the related legislation. The UCTRF is also approved by SARS (South African Revenue Services), which means that there are certain tax concessions when benefits are paid.

FSB Registration Number
The UCTRF’s FSB registration number is 12/8/31582