All participating employers interact regularly with the GEPF. They pay pension contributions over to the Fund every month and notify us when new members are being admitted and existing members are withdrawing. Employers also make sure that the information that the GEPF has on their employees (our members) is accurate and up to date.  

This interaction can take place electronically or manually, depending on the salary administration system that each employer uses. 

Electronic interaction is possible when an employer uses the National Treasury’s transversal systems, Persal or Persol, to administer its salaries. Persal is the payroll system used in most national and provincial government departments, while Persol is the system used in the uniformed services. Employers with Persal or Persol have the advantage of a single electronic interface with the GEPF, whether for admitting new members, collecting contributions or maintaining members. Currently, about 98 percent of all participating employers are electronic contributors. 

In the case of electronic transactions, our contribution management process consists of the following steps: 

1. Raising the amounts payable by the employer and member: This information comes from the monthly salary information obtained from Persal and Persol. The information is available by the third week of every month for the month concerned. Information is also received from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). The GEPF checks that the salary information is complete and valid. If it is not, we follow up with National Treasury’s Transversal Systems.
   
2. Allocating receipts: The GEPF captures and allocates receipts for payments to the debtor accounts daily; however to finalise this process for a specific month, the receipts must be captured and allocated by the 10^th of the next month in preparation for reconciliation.  
   
3. Reconciliation: In the last week of the month, the GEPF does a financial reconciliation to check that there is a match between amounts received and amounts payable. We also check that receipts have been correctly captured and that any employer refunds have been properly processed. The last part of the reconciliation process is to calculate the contributions outstanding for the month.
   
4. Following up on discrepancies: This step is aimed at correcting overpayments and underpayments. Contributions received are checked from the 8^th day of the month to determine which contributions are outstanding for the calculation of interest on late payment.
   
5. Raising late payment interest: Once interest on late payments is calculated, letters are sent to the employers to inform them accordingly. Should no response be received, the matter is followed up and then escalationed in terms of the GEPF Debt Collection Policy. The GEPF bases late payment interest on the Repo rate + 3%.

Reporting on the results: Each month, we compile a status report on contributions payable and amounts owing. This is submitted to GEPF management and the Benefits and Administration Committee (BA-C) of the Board of Trustees.