Saving for your retirement in our Umbrella Retirement Fund

Your employer has entrusted us with investing a portion of your monthly salary for your retirement. We look forward to a long and rewarding partnership with you as together we take steps towards ensuring that you have a more secure future. We are an investment manager focused on creating long-term wealth for investors, and we have been investing on behalf of our clients since 1974. Learn more about us.

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Your investment adjusts to suit your life stage

Your employer has chosen a default investment strategy believed to be suitable for most employees. Your contributions will be invested in this strategy, which is designed to automatically invest your savings in portfolios appropriate for your stage of life. You can choose an alternative if you want to. 

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You get help throughout your investment journey

Activate your secure online account to track your investment progress and manage your personal details. You will also receive quarterly statements via email. At significant milestones, we will send you helpful resources, including your options when leaving your employer and how to prepare for your retirement.

Your investment is safeguarded
Your interests are protected

The trustees are responsible for making sure that the Fund is well run and their main focus is on protecting your interests as a member of the Fund.

Frequently Asked Questions

An umbrella fund is a retirement structure that allows many employers to join the same retirement fund and offer their employees a way to save towards a more comfortable retirement. Each employer sets up a separate scheme within the Fund for their employer group and chooses an underlying investment portfolio for their group.

Every month, your employer deducts a portion of your salary (discussed and agreed with you), which is then paid over to us and invested into the portfolio chosen by your employer for your scheme.

If you believe the selected portfolio is not suitable for you, you can choose an alternative from the range available.

The Fund’s board of trustees is ultimately responsible for governing the Fund. They ensure that all aspects of running the Fund, such as administration, compliance with regulation, communication with members and the underlying investment portfolios, work well and are what is best for members.

Investment professionals from Allan Gray, or your chosen manager, look after your money and aim to provide you with the best possible return over time.

Your employer’s scheme adviser, if they use one, is responsible for helping your employer choose a suitable investment portfolio for your scheme. If you wish to choose your own investment portfolio, your scheme adviser may be able to assist you. Alternatively, you can appoint your own independent financial adviser.

How much you should be saving toward your retirement depends on your age and when you first started saving. There is no correct answer; the more you invest the more freedom of choice you will have about when to retire, where to live and what to do in your retirement.

Click here to read more about how to save for a comfortable retirement.

If you want to make an additional contribution, you must inform your payroll representative of the amount that you would like to have deducted from your salary, over and above the regular contribution amount. This can be once off or as a recurring amount.

There are three different options when you leave your employer:

  1. You are a member in your own right, so you can remain invested, regardless of any changes to your employment status; however, you cannot continue contributing. The money you have saved will automatically remain invested so it has more time to grow until you retire.
  2. You can transfer your investment to another retirement fund with Allan Gray or a different provider.
  3. You can withdraw from the accessible portions of your investment, but keep in mind that withdrawals are heavily taxed and this will mean you have less money to retire with.

Use our Leaving your employer guide to learn more about the three options summarised above.

It is important to make sure that your correct contact details are loaded on your Allan Gray Online account when you leave your employer. We will contact you directly as your personal and investment information will no longer be accessible by your current employer once you have left.

When you retire you will typically need to use your retirement savings to buy a product that can pay you an income in retirement. Regulation requires all retirement funds to identify one or more income-providing options for members to consider for this purpose. The trustees of the Allan Gray retirement funds have identified the Allan Gray Living Annuity and the Just Lifetime Income Annuity, which is a guaranteed annuity, as potential options for you.

Use our retirement preparation guide to learn more about your retirement income options.

By law, the trustees must decide how to allocate your money. To make this decision, they:

  • Do a full investigation, that can take up to 12 months
  • Identify all your dependants and potential dependants.
  • Establish the degree of dependency for each person
  • Allocate the money available as equitably as possible

The investigation is straightforward when all the necessary information and evidence is provided, or easy to obtain. If all the information is not available this can lead to a protracted investigation. The process can be difficult and painful for family and loved ones, especially when there is a pressing need for the money and/or the final allocation is not as they may have expected.

Trustees are not allowed to blindly follow your nominations

Although you may nominate who you would like to receive the money in the Fund, and the trustees will aim to follow your wishes, as far as legally possible, they must determine for themselves who your dependants are and how much they must receive.

Your nominations can be followed if they are in line with the outcome of the trustees investigation (i.e. you have nominated your dependants according to their dependency), or if you have no dependants.

You can shorten the process for your loved ones

If you keep Allan Gray up to date with your full family circle, and any changes to it, it will reduce the length of the investigation. This includes:

  • The contact information, and ID numbers if possible, of all your family members, partner, previous partners and close friends.
  • Anyone you are giving any money or other financial support to.
  • Your intentions with regard to those you are supporting, or may support in future.

Please log into your online account to keep your details up to date or download this form.

While we are not authorised to provide financial advice, we believe that independent financial advice, whether through a scheme adviser or personal adviser, plays an important role in helping:

  • Employers to decide on the most appropriate retirement savings solution for their staff
  • Employees to make the best investment decisions for their circumstances

Articles

Insights categories - Retirement

The trick to retiring with enough

By Thandi Ngwane on 20 Jul 2017

reading time: 6 mins

We are often asked by clients and prospective clients what the magic trick is that can turn a portion of your income into a comfortable retirement. It is har...

Insights categories - Retirement

How to save for a comfortable retirement

By Wanita Isaacs on 31 Mar 2016

reading time: 7 mins

How much is enough to save for a comfortable retirement? Wanita Isaacs unpacks the concepts of ‘enough’ and ‘comfortable’ in the context of this distant,...

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The financial services, products or investments referred to on this website are not available to persons resident in jurisdictions where their availability or distribution would contravene local laws or regulations and the information on this website is not intended for use by these persons. This website is for information only and does not in any way constitute a solicitation or offer by Allan Gray Proprietary Limited or any of its associates or subsidiaries (collectively “Allan Gray”) to buy or sell any financial instruments or to provide any investment advice or service.

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