Roestorf v Johannesburg Municipal Pension Fund and Others

The appellants were employees of the City of Johannesburg and members of the Johannesburg Municipal Pension Fund. Both retired in 1995 on grounds of total ill-health incapacity and began receiving monthly disability pensions calculated in terms of the Fund’s rules. They accepted the payments until 2003, when, after advice from a consultant, they suspected that their pensions had been incorrectly calculated. In 2006 they lodged a complaint with the Pension Funds Adjudicator, who upheld their complaint and ordered a recalculation at a higher rate. The Fund successfully reviewed that determination in the High Court, which also dismissed additional claims raised by the appellants in a counter-application. The appellants appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was dismissed. The order of the High Court setting aside the Pension Funds Adjudicator’s determination and dismissing the appellants’ counter-application was confirmed. Each party was ordered to pay its own costs on appeal.

The case is significant for clarifying the application of prescription and statutory time bars in pension disputes, particularly that ongoing pension payments may interrupt prescription. It also confirms that courts reviewing determinations of the Pension Funds Adjudicator are not strictly confined to the issues raised before the Adjudicator and provides authoritative guidance on the interpretation of pension fund rules governing disability benefits.