# Divorce Amendment Act, 1989

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The Divorce Amendment Act, 1989 (No. 7 of 1989) amended sections 1 and 7 of the Divorce Act, 1979, to allow an interest in a pension fund to be divided on divorce.
The act was published in Government Gazette No. 11741 on 15 March 1989, and came into force on 1 August of that year in terms of Proclamation No. 141 of 1989.
Act
To amend the Divorce Act, 1979, so as to provide that a party to a divorce action may share in the pension interest of the other party; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
(English text signed by the acting State President.) (Assented to 1 March 1989.)
Be it enacted by the State President and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:―
Amendment of section 1 of Act 70 of 1979
1. Section 1 of the Divorce Act, 1979, is hereby amended by the addition to subsection (1) of the following definitions:
“ ‘pension fund’ means a pension fund as defined in section 1 (1) of the Pension Funds Act, 1956 (Act No. 24 of 1956), irrespective of whether the provisions of that Act apply to the pension fund or not;
‘pension interest’, in relation to a party to a divorce action who—
(a)
(b)
contributions up to that date, calculated at the same rate as the rate prescribed as at that date by the Minister of Justice in terms of section 1 (2) of the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act, 1975 (Act No. 55 of 1975), for the purposes of that Act;
‘rules’, in relation to a pension fund, means rules as defined in section 1 (1) of the Pension Funds Act, 1956.”.
Amendment of section 7 of Act 70 of 1979, as amended by section 36 of Act 88 of 1984
2. Section 7 of the Divorce Act, 1979, is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsections:
“(7) (a) In the determination of the patrimonial benefits to which the parties to any divorce action may be entitled, the pension interest of a party shall, subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), be deemed to be part of his assets.
(i)
(ii)
(c) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to a divorce action in respect of a marriage out of community of property entered into on or after 1 November 1984 in terms of an antenuptial contract by which community of property, community of profit and loss and the accrual system are excluded.
(8) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or of the rules of any pension fund—
(a)
(i)
subsection (7), is due or assigned to the other party to the divorce action concerned, shall be paid by that fund to that other party when any pension benefits accrue in respect of that member;
(ii)
(b)
Short title and commencement
3. This Act shall be called the Divorce Amendment Act, 1989, and shall come into operation on a date fixed by the State President by proclamation in the Gazette.
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