An estimated R90 billion in unclaimed assets lies dormant across South Africa, belonging to millions of individuals who remain unaware that these funds are rightfully theirs.
Since the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) brought the issue to light in its 2022 report, it has gained widespread attention.
The report revealed that the retirement industry owes approximately R48-billion to nearly 4,5-million South Africans. It also noted that a 20% of these beneficiaries are owed less than R1 000 – an amount considered too low to justify the cost of tracing, so this group is largely being overlooked.
In 2024, Robin Hood – supported by Standard Bank – launched a tech-enabled solution designed to tackle this long-standing challenge head-on, making it easier to trace, verify and return assets to their rightful owners.
The impact is already measurable. Early-adopting asset holders are seeing real results and more than R4- million is being paid out to citizens in a fraction of the time it once took.
Rowan Gordon, CEO of Robin Hood, says: “The results of our tech enabled solution are encouraging. We’re demonstrating that boldly leveraging technology can efficiently solve the problem across all benefit values.”
Among these early wins are thousands of Welkom Yizani participants, where as of June 2025, nearly R15-million has been paid to participants.
Lurica Jacquet, group company secretary for Media24, explains: “These unclaimed funds stem from the 2021 Media24 buyout when it closed the Welkom Yizani scheme. While many participants were paid out at the time, there are still many more who need to be reached. With the help of Robin Hood, we are making good progress.”
Alongside a mining-related benefit fund and independent retirement funds, Liberty has emerged as one of the first major administrators to adopt the Robin Hood solution for its Unclaimed Benefits Fund.