Articles tagged as "retirement"
The default choice: Navigating investment options in retirement funds
As 2025 brings fresh beginnings, many people take stock in the first month or two, committing to resolutions and reassessing lifestyle goals. From a financia...
How to keep the lid on lifestyle creep
In recent years, central banks have grappled with curtailing inflation and easing interest rates at a reasonable pace.
In conversation with SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter
Speaking to financial journalist Alishia Seckam at the 2025 Allan Gray Fund Provider, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter shared a range of views on pressing...
Four rules for making your income last through retirement
Retirees who primarily rely on their living annuity investments to provide them with a steady stream of income are often haunted by the question: How do I ma...
Making new year’s financial resolutions last
As the new year kicks into full swing, many South Africans will be setting new year’s resolutions – including financial and investment goals – to improve the...
Resisting the lure of the two-pot cookie jar this festive season
With the festive season underway, consumers may be considering using their two-pot retirement savings component to splurge.
Taking stock of two-pot: A trustee’s perspective
All South African retirement funds have been impacted by the recent introduction of the two-pot retirement system.
What you need to know about two-pot withdrawals and tax
The highly anticipated two-pot retirement system came into effect on 1 September 2024. There has been significant activity across the retirement fund industr...
Independent financial advice: Mapping your employees’ path to a comfortable retirement
Everjoy Gumbo explains how employers can contribute to bridging South Africa’s retirement gap by availing access to independent financial advice, which can...
Two-pot cheat sheet
Given the overwhelming amount of information available about the new two-pot retirement system, below we provide a “cheat sheet”, which includes 10 “did you...
The importance of an emergency fund in the two-pot era (updated)
For a long time, the retirement savings industry has observed how many South Africans have struggled to balance accumulating and preserving their long-term...
Could you survive on less than a third of your income in retirement?
Despite taking steps to save, millions of South Africans are at risk of having to make significant lifestyle-related downgrades when they are no longer...
Two-pot: Enabling better retirements – for those who avoid the risks
The two-pot retirement system, which is set to be implemented on 1 September 2024, has been designed to improve retirement outcomes for South Africans by...
Two-pot: Your burning questions answered
With the new two-pot retirement system set to be implemented on 1 September 2024, many retirement fund members are wondering what the new legislation entails...
Two-pot: How to achieve better retirement outcomes
The new two-pot retirement system has been designed to improve retirement outcomes for South Africans, while allowing some access to retirement savings in ca...
Your next important election
With the two-pot retirement system signed into law, and set to be implemented on 1 September 2024, Belinda Carbutt discusses the latest retirement reform. Sh...
Part 3 (updated): The two-pot system and your savings withdrawal benefit
In part 3 of our Two-pot chapter, Jaya Leibowitz reminds us not to lose sight of the importance of preserving retirement savings, and cautions investors...
The two-pot system simplified (updated)
South Africa’s retirement savings system is changing, with the implementation date of the new system currently set for 1 September 2024 – although go-live...
Part 1 (updated): Challenges and opportunities with South Africa’s retirement fund system
While the South African retirement fund system faces its fair share of challenges, there are opportunities to harness and improve retirement outcomes for Sou...
Part 2 (updated): The two-pot system – what we know for now
There has been a lot of noise in the past few months about the changes that are being made to the South African retirement system. In part 2 of our Two-pot...
How to choose the right default option for a retirement fund
A well-designed default investment strategy should strike an appropriate balance between risk and return. Shaheed Mohamed, head of Group Savings and...
Retirement annuities still work
Planning well for retirement is essential to ensure your long-term financial well-being. One key aspect of retirement planning is choosing the product, or...
Who’s right – personal finance experts or economists?
When it comes to managing your wealth, there’s a yawning gap between what personal finance pundits advocate and what economists believe. Who should you liste...
Podcast: Are better outcomes for retirement savers on the horizon?
Allan Gray’s head of Assurance, Richard Carter, joins Umbrella Fund specialist Mica Townsend to discuss the challenges with the current system, the...
Great news for retirement savers as offshore limits increased to 45%
Following announcements in the recent Budget speech, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has confirmed that the offshore investment limits for all investme...
Five ways to build a solid financial foundation
Most of us start our careers in our early twenties and plan to earn an income for about four decades before reaching retirement age. Along the way we will...
Building a legacy: Part 2
Successfully building a legacy for our loved ones hinges on the strategies we put in place to achieve our financial goals. In the second of a two-part Zoom...
How to save for retirement when you work for yourself
Driven by the desire for greater flexibility, and improvements in technology, many skilled workers are turning to the gig economy to earn a living. Working...
Are you financially resilient?
Most of us know what it means to build resilience in the context of health and wellness: eat healthily, exercise regularly, get enough sleep and manage stres...
Retirement planning in reality
To truly break the cycle of poverty and start creating generational wealth, young working professionals need to prioritise saving for retirement. Leaveil Des...
The ultimate human race
As investors there is a lot we can learn from marathon runners that can assist us with our own “ultimate human race” – the challenge of retiring financially...
Umbrella funds can help attract millennial talent
Millennials are redefining the working environment, placing a bigger emphasis on tech and innovation, flexibility and rewards that aren’t only about...
How to achieve a sustainable retirement income
Shaun Duddy discusses how to meet and manage risks while drawing a stable income in retirement. He explains why investing at least 50% in growth assets is a...
PART 5: What should I invest in?
Tax and law are wrapped around every investment product. Knowing the rules can help you choose the right product for your needs...
Welcome amendments to retirement reform
The retirement reform amendments contained in the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, which will come into effect on 1 March 2016, are a positive step by Treasury ...
More for the future you, less for the tax man
The tides are changing in the retirement savings space, with National Treasury encouraging us to save more for retirement by significantly increasing the tax...
Five tough financial decisions you may have to make… And why they are worth it
Money decisions are never easy and often come down to personal circumstance and choice. If you are lucky enough to get a bonus or a 13 th cheque, should you...
Life in a month
July has been designated ‘Savings Month’ by the Savings Institute of South Africa. It is a good time to reflect on the choice we make between saving and...
How to ensure your retirement income goes the distance
It is only a number of years into retirement that the consequences of decisions made early on begin to show. If you are nearing retirement , or you are in...
Consider your lifestyle inflation when saving for retirement
While most investors seem to understand the need to contribute consistently to their retirement funds, and to start saving as early as possible, many investo...
Group retirement annuities bolstered by retirement reform
You should not let the current uncertainty around retirement reform inhibit your willingness to save for your retirement; it is very difficult to make up for...
Retirement reform: How will the changes affect you?
With a very small percentage of South Africans able to support themselves financially in retirement, Treasury has been taking a thorough look at retirement...
February: A good month to review your retirement plans and bump up your retirement savings
Don’t kid yourself that retirement planning is for those nearing retirement; the decisions you make early on have the greatest impact on your investment. The...
Make sustainability a priority when planning your retirement income
Over the last 20 years pension funds have increasingly passed the responsibility for generating income after retirement on to retirees and insurers, rather...
Planning for income post retirement
If you are knocking at 60's door and fall into the small minority of South Africans who have saved enough to retire comfortably, you may be planning your...
Retirement annuities: still an attractive choice for retirement savings
In light of changes to the legislation governing retirement funds, which now limits the exposure individuals may have to various asset classes (e.g. a maximu...
Do the more restrictive individual investment limits on RAs outweigh their tax benefits?
Previously, retirement funds were considered an obvious choice for many investors due to the tax benefits they afforded. However, changes to Regulation 28 of...
Making sense of the revised retirement fund regulations
A recent revision in South African pension fund regulations affects your ability to transact on your retirement fund investment account. Ian Barow and Taryn...
Working with the new retirement fund regulations
Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act sets out the maximum exposures that retirement funds may have to various asset classes. Previously this was monitored ...
Solving the problem of retirement funding for small and medium-size businesses
In Quarterly Commentary 1 of 2008 we introduced you to the Allan Gray Group Retirement Annuity. Two years on we reflect on how this system is proving to be a...
Early withdrawals from your retirement savings can be taxing
In this article, Michael Summerton and Carla Rossouw provide an overview of how withdrawal and retirement benefits are taxed. They use practical examples to...
Retirement fund reform - still debated
In previous articles covering retirement fund reform, we have shared our views on some of the choices being debated between stakeholders (see Quarterly...
The cost of too much choice
People are attracted to choice, but that does not mean that having more choice will lead to better decisions, or a better decision-making process. Research h...
