AT LEAST half of guardians in rural areas are unable to complete forms in their mother tongue, an informal survey has revealed.
The survey further showed that 90 percent of the sample did not know basic financial literacy concepts such as the difference between capital and interest.
Giselle Gould, business development director at Fairheads Benefit Services, said statistics were based on a sample of around 1000 guardians during workshops held this year in South Africa and neighbouring states.
Fairheads is an administrator of beneficiary trust funds.
Its workshops are a new initiative aimed at educating guardians about beneficiary funds and umbrella trusts that hold funds for the benefit of minor children in the guardians' case.
Money is placed into these funds at the discretion of retirement fund trustees who need to decide on the distribution of death benefits when a retirement fund member dies.
The guardian workshops take the form of a presentation followed by an open-floor session for questions.
English is used with an interpreter at hand.
Sessions cover how beneficiary funds and umbrella trusts work then specific aspects such as how to claim for special expenses, the need to update contact details in an annual certificate of existence.
In the Eastern Cape, 30percent of guardians were illiterate and 70percent had literacy levels equivalent to Grade 5.
In Lesotho and rural KwaZulu-Natal (Empangeni area), the statistics were similar but improved in the urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban and Pietermaritzburg) where 70percent of guardians had an average of Grade 12 literacy levels.
During workshops, when guardians were asked to complete forms in their mother tongue, it was found that 20percent could complete the form correctly.
About 30percent could partially complete the form and 50percent could neither complete nor understand what needed to be done.
50% of guardians in rural areas cannot complete forms - study
AT LEAST half of guardians in rural areas are unable to complete forms in their mother tongue, an informal survey has revealed.
The survey further showed that 90 percent of the sample did not know basic financial literacy concepts such as the difference between capital and interest.
Giselle Gould, business development director at Fairheads Benefit Services, said statistics were based on a sample of around 1000 guardians during workshops held this year in South Africa and neighbouring states.
Fairheads is an administrator of beneficiary trust funds.
Its workshops are a new initiative aimed at educating guardians about beneficiary funds and umbrella trusts that hold funds for the benefit of minor children in the guardians' case.
Money is placed into these funds at the discretion of retirement fund trustees who need to decide on the distribution of death benefits when a retirement fund member dies.
The guardian workshops take the form of a presentation followed by an open-floor session for questions.
English is used with an interpreter at hand.
Sessions cover how beneficiary funds and umbrella trusts work then specific aspects such as how to claim for special expenses, the need to update contact details in an annual certificate of existence.
In the Eastern Cape, 30percent of guardians were illiterate and 70percent had literacy levels equivalent to Grade 5.
In Lesotho and rural KwaZulu-Natal (Empangeni area), the statistics were similar but improved in the urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban and Pietermaritzburg) where 70percent of guardians had an average of Grade 12 literacy levels.
During workshops, when guardians were asked to complete forms in their mother tongue, it was found that 20percent could complete the form correctly.
About 30percent could partially complete the form and 50percent could neither complete nor understand what needed to be done.
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