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Retirement planning

A stress-free retirement starts with proper retirement planning. Here’s what you need to know.

Get expert advice on retirement planning that will connect you to the future you want.
Saving for retirement requires disciplined long-term saving and an appropriate investment strategy. Knowing exactly how much to save for how long and deciding which investment vehicles to use to help you meet your retirement goals requires careful planning and specialist expertise. Our globally integrated advice can help ensure you make the right savings decisions appropriate for your needs, circumstances and life stage, so that you can enjoy a stress-free retirement.

Here are some things to consider that we can advise you on:

The 45% tax is real, so it is vital to be tax-efficient in how you structure and invest your money.
There are many ways to structure and invest your money to be tax-efficient. Less tax means better growth on your money and more savings. With our globally integrated advice, we can connect you to all the different ways to improve your
tax-efficiency – see below for more details on tax-efficient investment options.
How much is enough to retire on comfortably? Are you on track to have sufficient savings?
At the bottom of this page, watch the short video clips from a panel discussion with Maya Fisher-French, personal-finance consumer journalist; Lizelle Momberg, Head of Legal and Risk at Nedgroup Investments; and Tracy Jensen, Senior Investment Analyst at Nedgroup Investments.

Redefining retirement
23 November 2021

We also recently hosted a webinar where our panel of experts connected you to insights about a new way of looking at retirement. Instead of focusing on the end of a career or formal employment, more people now choose to concentrate on what they plan to do in their ‘second phase of life’.

Click on the video to watch a recording of this webinar.

Let us help you with your retirement planning. Complete our online form today and one of our consultants will call you back.

We can connect you to tax-efficient ways to help you enjoy the retirement you deserve.
While there is no such thing as a free lunch, tax breaks are available to all South African taxpayers and provide an excellent opportunity to enhance investment returns and make your money work harder – whether you are starting to save, are approaching retirement or are already retired. It is however important to get professional advice before you invest to ensure you make the best decision for your specific needs.

For expert, personal advice, speak to your wealth manager or ask us to call you.

Three tax-efficient solutions to improve your returns

A retirement annuity (RA)
A tax-free investment (TFI)
An endowment

Retirement annuities (RAs)
RAs are ideal if you want to save on tax costs and boost your long-term retirement savings.	RAs are particularly beneficial if you: are self-employed; are not already a member of a pension or provident fund; or get some of your earnings from a bonus or incentive scheme. With an RA you pay less income tax now, because your contributions (up to certain limits) can be claimed as an income-tax deduction. All income and growth you earn while you are invested are tax-free. It’s important to note that an RA is specifically designed for retirement planning, which means you generally can’t access your money before the age of 55.

Retirement annuities (RAs)

RAs are ideal if you want to save on tax costs and boost your long-term retirement savings.

RAs are particularly beneficial if you:
- are self-employed;
- are not already a member of a pension or provident fund; or
- get some of your earnings from a bonus or incentive scheme.
With an RA you pay less income tax now, because your contributions (up to certain limits) can be claimed as an income-tax deduction.
All income and growth you earn while you are invested are tax-free.
It’s important to note that an RA is specifically designed for retirement planning, which means you generally can’t access your money before the age of 55.

Tax-free savings accounts (TFIs)
TFIs enable you to save tax-efficiently through simple, low-cost, accessible investments.	With TFIs you don’t pay any tax, unless you contribute more than the allowed limits – currently R36 000 per year and R500 000 over your lifetime. The only fee you pay is the yearly investment management fee – there are no upfront, switching or exit fees. You can access your money within 48 hours. Find out more about how easy it is to use our app to: open a new tax-free investment; or make extra contributions to an existing TFI.
Both RAs and TFIs offer you the following: Diversification – you have access to a diverse range of local and international underlying investment options. Flexibility – you can choose to invest in regular investments, lump sums or a combination of these. Low minimum monthly contributions – with minimum investments from as little as R500 a month, these investments are easily accessible.

Tax-free savings accounts (TFIs)

TFIs enable you to save tax-efficiently through simple, low-cost, accessible investments.

With TFIs you don’t pay any tax, unless you contribute more than the allowed limits – currently R36 000 per year and R500 000 over your lifetime.
The only fee you pay is the yearly investment management fee – there are no upfront, switching or exit fees.
You can access your money within 48 hours.

Find out more about how easy it is to use our app to:

Both RAs and TFIs offer you the following:

Diversification – you have access to a diverse range of local and international underlying investment options.
Flexibility – you can choose to invest in regular investments, lump sums or a combination of these.
Low minimum monthly contributions – with minimum investments from as little as R500 a month, these investments are easily accessible.

View a detailed comparison of RAs versus TFIs and their respective features, limits and tax benefits .

Endowments
Endowments offer a tax-efficient and useful estate planning solution.	Tax is recovered at preferential rates in the endowment and taken care of on your behalf. After the maturity date, you have access to your money through a lump sum or regular withdrawals. These withdrawals will also be tax-free. Insolvency protection – the entire value of your investment is protected against creditors from three years after the investment has started until five years after it has matured or ended. Estate-planning benefits – if you have nominated beneficiaries, payment of the death benefit does not depend on the winding-up of your estate, which means your beneficiaries will get their money relatively quickly.

Endowments

Endowments offer a tax-efficient and useful estate planning solution.

Tax is recovered at preferential rates in the endowment and taken care of on your behalf.
After the maturity date, you have access to your money through a lump sum or regular withdrawals. These withdrawals will also be tax-free.
Insolvency protection – the entire value of your investment is protected against creditors from three years after the investment has started until five years after it has matured or ended.
Estate-planning benefits – if you have nominated beneficiaries, payment of the death benefit does not depend on the winding-up of your estate, which means your beneficiaries will get their money relatively quickly.

Want to know more? Here's what to do:

Contact your wealth manager.
If you’re not a client yet and want expert, personal advice on your retirement planning, we'd love to get in touch. Contact us on 0860 111 263 or complete an online contact form.

Learn more about retirement planning
The below videos address some of the key questions and topics relating to successful retirement planning – we hope you will find these useful:

Retirement planning
Simply click on any of these links to view the videos. Should you use your retirement annuity, tax-free savings or savings account to alleviate cash flow issues?
Should you postpone your retirement?
How much is enough to retire comfortably?
What is the difference between a living annuity and a life annuity?
What should members of a government-employee pension fund consider going into retirement?
What are the implications of withdrawing from your retirement fund and how much should you withdraw?
How to invest your retirement funds wisely.
How do disallowed retirement fund premiums work?
Are there benefits to investing in a retirement annuity when you are already retired?
How long before retirement should you move to a life stage growth portfolio?
How much should you have saved for retirement by the time you are in your 40s?
What you need to know about financial emigration and retirement.

Tax-free investments
What tax-efficient investment vehicles are available to you?
Which investment products can you hold within a tax-free investment?
Tax-free investing for your children.
What tax implications do tax-free investments pose to deceased estates?