The Two-Pot retirement reform – What members need to know

What was the thinking behind the Two-Pot system? Many South Africans struggled financially through the pandemic because they don’t have “rainy days” funds. The National Treasury came up with the Two-Pot system to provide a way for them to access a portion of their retirement savings for emergencies. But most importantly, to help them preserve […]
Retirement Planning for Age-Gap Couples

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” (Mark Twain) When is an age gap significant? If the age gap between you and your spouse is less than five years, you probably don’t have to worry too much about it when planning for retirement. We generally consider a […]
Set SMART investment goals for long term financial success

Indeed, goals are vital to leading a successful and happy life. You need to know what you want from your personal life, what you hope to achieve in your career, and how you want to experience retirement. Without goals, life can become a series of muddled events. I’m going to take it one step further […]
Proposal to increase retirement funds’ offshore allowance

National Treasury’s proposal to harmonise the offshore limit for all insurance, retirement and savings funds will enable retirement funds to invest up to 45% of their capital offshore. This includes the 10% allowance for investments into other African countries, according to the Budget Review. The proposal implies that the current Regulation 28 offshore limit of […]
Budget 2022: The Executive Summary

SA’s total tax revenue exceeded the February 2021 Budget Speech estimate by R182bn at R1.55trn. A year ago revenue had been estimated at R1.4trn, which was adjusted to R1.5trn in November’s MTBPS. Year-on-year revenue growth in revenue was 24% (2021: R1.25trn). Improved revenue is primarily due to improved commodity prices, with corporate tax receipts from mining […]
A look at young people and their attitude towards money and how to improve their finances

For many years, young people in South Africa have experienced and faced many challenges regarding them completing their education which has resulted in extreme unemployment rates and is one of the key challenges facing our society and necessitates. A recent study conducted by Momentum in partnership with UNISA, The Momentum UNISA Financial Index reveals that […]
Ready, Set, Plan!

Every year, more and more young adults finish school or their degrees and enter the workforce. These young professionals face numerous challenges such as finding employment, entering into contracts on their own, and the most pressing of all – dealing with financial pressure. What financial topics are young professionals most interested in? To answer this, […]
Are retirement annuities still worth it?

With “RA season” in full swing, many investors are asking whether retirement annuities are still worth it with all the speak of prescribed assets and imminent legislation changes. The debate is quite hot. As with most things, you will have to look at your own situation, and more importantly, evaluate your personal financial discipline before […]
5 reasons why you should consider RENTING in retirement

South Africans traditionally loves owning property. Residential properties have however disappointed greatly in terms of the lack of capital growth and the opportunity cost have increased greatly due to fantastic offshore investment options being available. This begs the question: “Should I consider RENTING in retirement?”. We have determined 5 reasons why you should in fact […]
The “R” word: Do we really understand what risk means to investors?

We need to change the way we think about risk so that advisors and investors can speak the same language and lock in long term growth. By Hester van der Merwe CFP®, Ultima Financial Planners, Financial Planner of the Year 2020 Risk profiling is a contentious subject in the investment universe. There was a time […]