The PetroSA Retirement Fund was established on 1 February 1996. All permanent employees of the PetroSA, including those employed on a contract basis for an unbroken period of two years or longer, are required to belong to the Fund as a condition of employment.

The Fund is a Defined Contribution Arrangement. The key feature of a Defined Contribution Fund is that the benefit you receive on retirement depends entirely on:

• The contributions that are set aside monthly as your retirement savings
• The investment return (positive or negative) you earn on this money.

In addition to providing retirement benefits, the Fund also provides resignation, retrenchment and death benefits.

The PetroSA Retirement Fund is also approved by SARS as a provident fund – this means that in terms of current tax legislation you can select any combination of pension and/or lump sum at retirement. More specifically, the rules of the Fund are structured so that the retirement benefit is the amount of pension that can be secured with your retirement savings. You have the option to take up to 100% of your pension as a lump sum. This gives you flexibility because you decide how much of your benefit you want as a lump sum and/or pension.

Contributions to a Provident Fund are tax deductible within certain limits. The tax treatment of contributions and benefits is explained UNDER “Taxation of benefits”.