March 2021
02Mar

South Africa proposes easing infrastructure limits for retirement plans

South Africa's National Treasury wants to make it easier for the country's retirement plans to invest in infrastructure. The Treasury proposed amendments to Regulation 28 of the country's Pension Funds Act, which reduces excessive and concentration risk to assets and limits the extent to which plans can invest in a particular asset or asset class. The proposed changes, which were made in response to calls for increased investment in infrastructure given the low economic growth environment in South Africa, would introduce...

March 2, 2021
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February 2021
24Feb

Take-home pay in South Africa falls due to COVID-19 lockdown

The average take-home pay in South Africa has declined compared with the same period last year as businesses struggle to cope under national lockdown rules. This is according to the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), which found that the real average salary fell by 2.4% in the past month. “The real average and overall salary paid contracted in January 2021 after coming under strain from the pandemic and level 3 lockdown, according to the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI),”...

February 24, 2021
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18Feb

South Africa. Cosatu Welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Signing of the Historic Pic Amendment Act Into Law

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa's signing of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) Amendment Act and its immediate enactment into law. This is long overdue. The PIC Amendment Act was drafted by Parliament's Finance Committees in close collaboration with COSATU. This was necessitated by the revelation of rampant looting and the mismanagement of PIC funds by many in the PIC and those companies who have benefited from its investments and loans. The Amendment Act...

February 18, 2021
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January 2021

28Jan

South Africa take-home pay numbers decline

The steep decline in the number of take-home payments has adjusted the average South African salary by a few percentage points, according to the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI) for December 2020. “The real average take-home pay increased by 2,1% year-on-year,” says Shergeran Naidoo, BankservAfrica’s Head of Stakeholder Engagements. “The reason behind this is not positive. The average salary rose as a result of the decline in the number of lower paid earners that led to a 5,4% nominal...

January 28, 2021
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05Jan

South Africa. Long-awaited pension reforms deal with only half of the problem

Many retiring members of provident funds have spent most of the lump sum on costs of living rather than investing it prudently to ensure a lasting income stream. They are forced to rely on the old age pension offered by the state. But upcoming retirement reforms to rectify the situation might only be half of the solution. State pensions essentially defeat the government’s purpose in offering tax incentives to members of pension funds – not provident funds –  during their...

January 5, 2021
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December 2020

14Dec

South Africa. 1 600 municipal employees’ pensions have lapsed due to ‘non-payment of pension fund contributions’

Several municipalities across the country have defaulted on paying workers' pension contributions to their respective pension funds. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said municipalities in the Free State, North West and Northern Cape were mostly affected by the default in pension fund contributions. The DA said it would lay charges against the involved municipal officials. While governance failures have all but decimated some of the country's poorest municipalities, errant officials have not been paying millions in employer contributions to workers'...

December 14, 2020
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10Dec

South Africa. Sustainability should be paramount in pension fund investment

By Adam Bennot There is little point in making provision for a comfortable retirement if the society and environment in which you live is untenable. Nor will you actually have a decent pension if the retirement industry doesn't make sustainable investments with positive social and environmental impacts. The two are inextricably linked. From a public policy perspective, many stakeholders believe that impact investing can provide a public good, particularly in areas where the government lacks the resources. For pension fund...

December 10, 2020
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03Dec

South African expats face stricter pension rules

The South African government has tabled a tax relief meaure that would benefit expats stuck in the country during lockdown, while passing a bill that would potentially make it more difficult for them to access their pension funds until three years after they emigrate. South African expats earning up to ZAR1.25m (£61,000, $81,000, €68,000) through foreign employment need to spend at least 183 days out of the country during a 12-month period, of which 60 days must be continuous,...

December 3, 2020
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November 2020

23Nov

What South Africans Need To Know About Offshore Investing

South Africans looking to make proper provision for their retirement should consider utilising their full annual foreign exchange provisions and should choose the right offshore investment options to protect themselves from a volatile economic and political environment. This is according to Sovereign Trust SA. Many South Africans still feel conflicted about investing offshore, partly because they don’t understand the differences between local and international retirement plans, said Richard Neal, MD of Sovereign Trust SA. “While offshore retirement funds, like...

November 23, 2020
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18Nov

South Africa. GEPF asset market value declines by 11.4% – annual report

Ryk Van Niekerk: The Government Employees Pension Fund, or GEPF, released its annual report yesterday, November 16, 2020. It was for their financial year to the end of March this year. Now the GEPF is a defined-benefit fund, which manages pensions and related benefits on behalf of government employees in South Africa. It was established in 1996, and is the largest pension fund in South Africa and one of the largest in the world. The fund’s asset value stood...

November 18, 2020
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