The High Court granted the application under PAJA and set aside a decision of the Appeal Board.  The Registrar of Pension Funds rejected  the statutory actuarial valuation of the Fund as at 13 September 2007.  The Appeal Board had upheld that decision.  The Fund is a closed defined benefit fund established in 1951. It terms of “surplus legislation” any surplus in pension funds that was historically utilised for improper purposes was cleaned up. The applicant’s surplus apportionment date was 31 March 2002.  On 1 February 2006 the Fund submitted to the Registrar a scheme for the apportionment of its actuarial surplus in the Fund as at 31 March 2002.  In terms of this scheme the adjusted actuarial surplus to be apportioned was R238 259 000 of which the participating employer was apportioned an amount of R118 124 000.  The registrar has a gate-keeping function and grants approval based solely on actuarially sound and prescribed acceptable principles.  The Appeal Board erred in relying on s15(D)(2) of the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956 in coming to its finding.

British American Tobacco Pension Fund v Howie NO (9480/2014) [2015] ZAGPPHC 341 ; [2015] 3 All SA 398 (27 May 2015) per Potterill J.