Before 1996, there were 10 separate pension funds for South African public servants, each with different pension dispensations and benefits, these included the funds of the former TBVC (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei) states, self-governing states and various other funds, as well as the Government Service Pension Fund. This fragmented situation came to an end when the GEPF was established on 1 May 1996 as a single, consolidated pension fund for all government employees. 

The GEPF started out in 1996 with an overall asset base of R127 billion which, over the years, has increased significantly. The current value of GEPF assets is over R700 billion.  

This growth has gone hand in hand with an improvement in the funding level of the GEPF from 72% in 1996 to 100% as at the latest approved actuarial valuation of 31 March 2008. 

Board of Trustees established

The governance of the GEPF took an important step forward in May 2005 when the first Board of Trustees was inaugurated, consisting of eight employer representatives and eight employee representatives. Previously, the Minister of Finance had been the sole trustee.  

The first Board of Trustees served a four-year term of office, which expired in June 2009 and was succeeded by the current Board, which was inaugurated in September 2009 for a four-year term. 

New developments

The GEPF is among the leaders in socially responsible investment in South Africa and has been a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment since 2006. As such, we take environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into account when making investment decisions. We also encourage the companies we invest in to strike a balance between profits and being socially responsible, and to actively manage their environmental impact while maintaining high levels of corporate governance standards.