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Rosemary Hunter Johannesburg Lawyer

Rosemary Hunter

Counsel Fasken
Retirement funds are precious. If they are well governed and managed and their assets invested in a sustainable way, they can provide financial security for their members and their families, give their members collective financial muscle, promote the good governance of, sound labour relations in, and the protection of the environment by, the companies in which they invest, and contribute towards economic stability and growth.
Jurisdiction South Africa, 1992
Language(s) English
Office(s) Johannesburg
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Overview

Rosemary Hunter is a pensions, benefits and financial services attorney in Johannesburg, with a practice focussed on assisting various role-players to ensure that pension funds, medical schemes and other employee benefit schemes deliver fit for purpose, value for money benefits to the benefit of all stakeholders.

With knowledge and insights derived from her 25 years’ of experience in pensions and financial services law and regulation, including three years as deputy-registrar of pension funds appointed by the Minister of Finance, Rose’s advice on a wide range of legal issues faced by retirement funds, employee benefit schemes and providers of products and services to them is highly valued by her clients and respected by her peers.

She is a visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand for which she teaches pension law to post-graduate students and practitioners and her published legal writing, including the leading pension law text book in South Africa she co-authored and edited, has been cited with approval in the judgments of various courts and tribunals.

Rose represents clients in litigation, negotiation and in dealing with regulators. She also drafts agreements, pension fund rules, policies and codes and has advised the National Treasury, the Financial Services Board (since replaced by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority) and foreign governments and regulators on new approaches to the supervision of pension funds, administrators and other role players in the pensions industry and has drafted legislation and regulatory instruments.

Achievements

  • Recognised nationwide in South Africa as Band 3 in Employment., Chambers Global 2026
  • Best Lawyer, Best Lawyers 2021 to 2025
  • Recognised nationwide in South Africa in Employment., Chambers Global 2025
  • Who’s Who Legal, Who's Who Legal 2018 to 2021
  • Whos Who Legal, Who's Who Legal 2018
  • PLC Which Lawyer, PLC Which Lawyer? 2006 to 2011
Who's Who Legal Publication name with laurels Who's Who Legal Who’s Who Legal Thought Leaders Labour & Employment
Who's Who Legal Publication name with laurels Who's Who Legal Whos Who Legal Recognized in Who’s Who Legal for Thought Leadership (2018), ‘Rosemary Hunter is a go - to name on pensions and benefits, particularly retirement funds and employee benefit schemes. One source says “She is just unbelievable. Undoubtedly the premier pension funds lawyer in South Africa.”’
Laurels image PLC Which Lawyer? PLC Which Lawyer Highly recommended individual, Labour and Employee Benefits Award. PLC Which Lawyer? (2006-2011)

Career & Education

Education

  • LLM, Labour Law University of the Witwatersrand
  • LLB University of Witwatersrand
  • BA, Law University of the Witwatersrand

Community involvement

  • Senior lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand 2003-present

Memberships & Affiliations

  • Member Legal Practice Council of South Africa 1992

Knowledge

  • SCA judgment on retrospective rule amendments upsets the retirement funds apple cart, 4/14/2022
  • "I was not a member, so return my full contributions with interest", 4/6/2022
  • Case Law Developments for Pension Funds - ‘I was not a member, so return my full contributions with interest’, 4/5/2022
  • New BCEA Earnings Threshold, 2/17/2022
  • Discrimination disputes under the Employment Equity Act: a comparator certainly needs to be a comparator, 11/18/2021
  • Fasken South Africa Insurance Law Annual Review, 4/16/2021

News

  • Seventeen Fasken Lawyers Recognized in the 2022 Edition of Best Lawyers in South Africa, 11/11/2021
  • Fasken Partner Appointed to the South African Ombud Council Board, 5/25/2021
  • Moonstone mentions Rosemary Hunter in an article on trends impacting retirement funds, 1/18/2021
  • DailyMaverick.co.za quotes Rosemary Hunter in an article on Eskom’s debt, 12/9/2020
  • Dailymaverick.co.za quotes Rosemary Hunter in an article on the proposed Pension Funds Amendment Bill, 10/22/2020
  • Retirementplanning.co.za mentions Rosemary Hunter in an article on pension funds, 2/21/2020
  • Mail & Guardian quotes Rosemary Hunter in an article on pension funds, 11/5/2019
  • 702 Live quotes Rosemary Hunter in an article on South Africa’s deregistered pension fund, 10/26/2019
  • Fasken Promotes Experienced Pensions Consultant to Partner, 2/11/2019
  • Mail & Guardian quotes Rosemary Hunter in an article regarding the complications of former chief executive, Brian Molefe’s return to Eskom, 5/26/2017

Publications

  • South Africa: Is There An Obligation On The Employer To Pay Retirement Fund Contributions Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, 4/17/2020
  • Pensions & Retirement Plans in South Africa, 5/2/2019
  • Pension Funds and Climate Risk: Responsible Investing for Climate Resilience, 4/15/2019
  • Warning to employers: Check that you have been paying contributions to your employees’ retirement funds at the correct rates and on time. The penalties for not doing this could be punitive., 3/6/2019
  • Handshakes, handcuffs and what Dan Matjila should be paid, 12/12/2018
  • Getting the Deal Through, 5/31/2018
  • Retirement feature: A deeply flawed social security measure, 3/29/2018
  • A deeply flawed social security measure, 3/1/2018
  • Q&A: occupational pension schemes in South Africa, Lexology

Speaking Engagements

  • Retirement Reality: What you don't know about your pension fund, 10/5/2022
  • Retirement funds should be invested in well run infrastructure projects, 12/9/2020
  • Which fund decisions (if any) are ‘administrative action? And why is it important to know?, 3/5/2019
  • Trustee Revelation - Trustee Training Seminar, 2/15/2019
Speaker Retirement Reality: What you don't know about your pension fund Business Maverick Webinar
Speaker Retirement funds should be invested in well run infrastructure projects Annual Pensions & Retirement Summit 2020