Question:
I want to borrow money from my provident fund.
Answer:
Justice,
Although the Pension Funds Act does permit borrowing from your retirement fund, this must be for very specific purposes, which are essentially housing-related (ie to buy your home, or to improve it, or to buy land with the intention of building a house on it for you and/or your dependents). This must however also be permitted by your specific fund rules, and you would have to check up on this with your HR department.
You cannot however borrow from the fund, to meet any other financial needs. There is a good reason for this: your retirement fund money is intended for your retirement, or at least for a period when you are not working. Borrowing from the fund means you are borrowing from your future. Unless you are able to pay back that money, you will have too little money in future when you really do need it, to survive. In other words, this rule is designed to protect you.
