Rule 293 — Nomination.
The rule governs nomination by an employee who is a member of a provident fund.
Sub-rule (1) allows an employee to be permitted by the trustees of the provident fund to nominate one or more persons to receive the amount held in the fund in the event of his death, the nomination to be made in Form No. 184. Sub-rule (2) requires an employee nominating more than one person to specify the amount or share payable to each nominee in a way that covers the whole of the amount that may stand to his credit in the fund.
Sub-rules (3) and (4) tie the nomination to family. Where the employee has a family at the time of making the nomination, it must be in favour of one or more persons belonging to his family, and a nomination in favour of a person not belonging to his family is invalid. Where he does not have a family at that time, the nomination may be in favour of any person or persons, but if he later gains a family the nomination becomes invalid and he may then make a new nomination in favour of one or more persons from his family.
Sub-rule (5) deals with a minor nominee: where the nomination is in favour of a minor, whether partly or fully, the member may appoint an adult family member as guardian of the minor nominee in the event of the member's death, and if there are no adult family members available, he may choose any other person as guardian. Sub-rule (6) allows modification at any time by written notice to the trustees in Form No. 184, and provides that if the nominee dies before the employee the nomination reverts back to the employee, who may then make a new nomination for that interest. Sub-rule (7) fixes effect: a nomination or its modification takes effect to the extent that it is valid on the date on which it is received by the trustees.
Sub-rule (8) defines "family": for a male member, his wife, his children whether married or unmarried, his dependant parents and his deceased son's widow and children; for a female member, her husband, her children whether married or unmarried, her dependant parents, her husband's dependant parents and her deceased son's widow and children.
A provident fund balance has to be paid to someone when the member dies, and the fund needs to know to whom without waiting on a succession dispute. The rule supplies the instrument, in one form, and then constrains it: a member with a family cannot direct the money away from that family. The definition of family in sub-rule (8) is what gives that constraint its content, and it is deliberately wider than a household — it reaches dependant parents and a deceased son's widow and children.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date from which a nomination or modification takes effect | The date on which it is received by the trustees | It takes effect to the extent that it is valid on that date | Sub-rule (7) |
Validity is judged on the family position at the time of making the nomination, but sub-rule (4) then makes a valid nomination fail later: an employee with no family who nominates an outsider sees that nomination become invalid on gaining a family, and it is for him to make a new one. Sub-rule (2) is what prevents a partial gap — where more than one person is nominated, the shares specified must cover the whole of the amount that may stand to the member's credit. A nominee's death does not pass the interest to anyone else; under sub-rule (6) the nomination reverts back to the employee, who may nominate again for that interest. The guardianship provision in sub-rule (5) has an order to it: an adult family member first, and any other person only if no adult family members are available. And under sub-rule (7) it is receipt by the trustees that counts, so a form signed but not delivered has no effect, and a nomination that is partly invalid takes effect to the extent it is valid.
A member with a wife and two minor children nominates his wife for 50% and each child for 25% in Form No. 184, appointing his wife as guardian of the minors under sub-rule (5), and the trustees receive the form. The whole of the credit balance is covered, as sub-rule (2) requires, and the nominees all belong to his family under sub-rule (8). Had he nominated a friend instead while having that family, the nomination would be invalid under sub-rule (3).
An employee meets it on joining a recognised provident fund and whenever family circumstances change, in the Form No. 184 lodged with the trustees; the family meets it when a claim is made after the member's death.
any nomination made by an employee in favour of a person not belonging to his family shall be invalid
if the nominee dies before the employee, the nomination shall revert back to the employee who may then make a new nomination for that interest
A nomination or its modification shall take effect to the extent that it is valid on the date on which it is received by the trustees.