The Day I Lost My Small Savings Book
I lost my book. Not a school book. The small Post Office savings book. The one we were told to keep safe since we were kids at the orphanage in Kagiso.
For two weeks I looked everywhere. Under the bed. In old plastic bags. At my cousin's house in Hammanskraal. Nothing. When I went to the Post Office without it, they said: "No book, no account number, no money." I only had my ID.
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What The Lady At The Post Office Told Me For two weeks I looked everywhere...
That day, a lady in the queue asked me: "You are an orphan. Did you check Guardian's Fund?" I had never heard of it.
She explained: When parents pass away, if they had a job, pension, or insurance, the government keeps the money at the Master of the High Court in Pretoria. For the child. Until they are 18 or 21. Thousands of children in South Africa have money there and they don't know it.
3 Where To Check With Only Your ID
That same day I learned how to check with only an ID:
1. Postbank: Go to any Post Office with your original ID. They can search by ID number and find your old savings account, even if you lost the book. You need a police affidavit for a new book.
2. Guardian's Fund: This is the biggest one for orphans. Go to Pretoria Master of the High Court, 316 Thabo Sehume Street, or call 012 339 7700. You can also check online.
3. Unclaimed Benefits: The FSCA has a website where you type your ID. If any company owes you pension, provident fund, or insurance from your parents' job, it will show.
I haven't found money yet. But the Post Office found my account number with just my ID. I am waiting for my new book. Tomorrow I am going to Pretoria to check Guardian's Fund.
If you are from an orphanage, or your parents passed early, don't just look for your lost book. Check the places where South Africa keeps money for people who don't know they have it.
I will update this story after my trip to Pretoria.