Ashley Nyambe
THE Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) will now accept electronic funeral claims applications which can be submitted via email by the applicable claimant or by a Human Resource practitioner from a GIPF participating employer.
The application should include the original certified supporting documents such as the member’s death certificate, the identity document of the claimant and the deceased, the deceased’s marriage certificate and the claimant’s proof of banking details.
If the deceased was unmarried, then the application should be accompanied by a declaration of oath from two independent family members stating their relationship to the deceased and giving the claimant permission to claim from the funeral fund. The declaration must be submitted within ten working days.
According to the fund’s Manager of Client Services, Hilkka Mbako, the new electronic process is intended to reduce processing time and improve service delivery “in an innovative, professional, and respectful manner”.
