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5 minutes with the Pension Lawyers Association of South Africa

This month De Rebus news editor Nomfundo Manyathi spoke to the President of the Pension Lawyers Association of South Africa (PLA), Brenda Krummeck, about the organisation.

What is the PLA?

The PLA is an association of legal practitioners who specialise in giving advice on retirement fund and employee benefits law and practice.

What does the PLA do?

The PLA promotes the interests of pension lawyers, as well as awareness of the importance of the role of law and lawyers in the provision of retirement and other employee and group benefits. The association affords opportunities for discussion, sharing of information and consideration of issues of interest for its membership. The PLA is also involved in the education and provision of information to its members and others. This is done by holding seminars and an annual conference where topics and case law of legal and technical interest are discussed among pension lawyers, administrators, consultants and other people engaged in providing retirement benefits.

When was the PLA established?

The PLA was founded in 1996.

Who can become a member of the PLA?

There are three different types of membership:

• Full membership, which is given to any person who satisfies the committee that he is a lawyer and is interested, employed or active in the retirement fund industry or pension law.

• Associate membership, which is open to a person who satisfies the committee that he is interested, employed or active in the retirement fund industry or pension law.

• Foreign membership, which is open to a person who satisfies the committee that he is –

- a resident in a jurisdiction outside of South Africa;

- a lawyer or has a legal qualification to practise law outside South Africa; and

- employed or active in the retirement fund industry, pension law or employee benefits practice.

How does one become a member?

Application for membership can be made by completing an application form and faxing it to the PLA administrator. On acceptance of membership, the payment of an annual subscription fee becomes applicable. Applications can also be submitted by completing an online application form.

The membership fees for 2012 (January to December) are: A joining administration fee of R 200 and an annual fee of R 700 (including VAT) or R 350 for six months.

What is the PLA’s current membership?

We currently have 217 members.

Does the PLA have offices in each province or just a national office?

We do not have offices; we have chapters in the Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape. The PLA is run by a national steering committee with representatives from each of the chapters. We have a central administration, which is run from Cape Town.

Contact information

PO Box 22580, Fish Hoek

Cape Town 7974

South Africa

Tel: 086 111 1065/(021) 782 6943

Fax: 086 566 7817

E-mail: admin@pensionlawyers.co.za

Website: www.pensionlawyers.co.za

If you would like to see a specific organisation featured in the ‘5 minutes with …’ column, please send an e-mail to nomfundo@derebus.org.za

De Rebus reserves the right to decide on which organisations will be featured in the column, including taking the initiative to approach organisations to be featured.

Nomfundo Manyathi,

nomfundo@derebus.org.za

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