Registrar of Pension Funds v Brian Angus NO and Others

The Engineering Industries Pension Fund (EIPF) and the Metal Industries Provident Fund (MIPF) were established following industrial council agreements concluded under the Industrial Conciliation Act 28 of 1956 and published in terms of s 48 of that Act. These agreements provided for the payment of contributions to industry-wide pension/provident funds ‘to be established’. The constitutions and rules of the funds were later adopted by the relevant industry parties, and the funds were registered under the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956 (PFA). The Registrar of Pension Funds contended that the funds were not exempt from the PFA because they were not established ‘by’ the industrial council agreements, but rather by later adoption of constitutions and rules. The respondents sought a declaratory order that the PFA did not apply to the funds and that their registrations were void.

The appeal was dismissed. The EIPF and MIPF were declared exempt from the provisions of the Pension Funds Act in terms of s 2(1). The Registrar of Pension Funds was ordered to pay the costs, including the costs of two counsel.

The case authoritatively interprets the exemption in s 2(1) of the Pension Funds Act and clarifies the relationship between pension funds established through industrial council collective bargaining and the statutory pension regulatory regime. It affirms a purposive, constitutionally informed approach to statutory interpretation and protects the autonomy of collectively bargained industry funds from inappropriate regulatory overlap.