September 2023
22Sep

The Future of Global Retirement

By Andrew Evans & Will Wynne Smart is a world-leading retirement technology provider. Our mission is to transform retirement, savings and financial wellbeing, across all generations, around the world. Launched in 2015, our technology platform – Keystone – serves the needs of retirement savers globally, and we are now active on four continents. Keystone is specifically designed to help governments and financial services organisations to serve their citizens' and customers' retirement saving and spending needs. Smart’s team of engineers, researchers and user...

September 22, 2023
Books, Books, Reports, Savings, , , , , , ,
Read more...
15Sep

Survey Reveals That South Africans Fear Retirement More Than Death

The survey, conducted among over 1900 South African consumers aged between 25 and 65 years, paints a picture of apprehension and challenges surrounding retirement amongst the country’s citizens. It also sheds light on the significant fears and challenges people face right now in securing savings for their retirement – with prevalent concerns being the high cost of living, unemployment, and personal debt. This concurs with findings from the 2023 Old Mutual Savings and Investment Survey (OMSIM) that show that retirement does...

September 15, 2023
News,
Read more...

August 2023
22Aug

South Africa. Women struggle to retire as early or as securely as men

Longevity literacy is critical to help women live confidently and securely when it comes to their wind-down years. South Africa’s gender pension gap sits at 26%, reflecting the average difference in retirement income between men and women. Farzana Botha, segment manager at Sanlam Risk and Savings, said that often, women cannot afford to retire as early or as comfortably as men. She believes that turning this around should be a national imperative. Botha said: “A multitude of factors contribute to...

August 22, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
18Aug

South Africa. Pay back the money: Eskom employees lose pension payouts, and cars after R2.6 million fraud backfires

The Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crime Court has issued a restraining order against former Eskom employees and their relatives after they allegedly defrauded Eskom of close to R3 million. Mpumalanga spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, said the order was gratified against Nwabisa Ngxola, Cinderella Moropane, Edward Moropane, and Jeffrey Moropane. It is alleged that during the period between March 2012 and May 2013, Ngxola and Cinderella Moropane were employed at Eskom. The former was responsible for capturing payments and...

August 18, 2023
News,
Read more...
07Aug

Warning over new retirement system in South Africa

Old Mutual warns that the new two-pot retirement system, which will become operational next year, could negatively impact the entire purpose of retirement funds. From 1 March 2024, South Africans will be able to put their savings into two separate retirement pots. Up to one-third of all retirement contributions will go into a “savings pot”, which will be accessible once a year. A more standard “retirement pot” will receive at least two-thirds of the contributions made after 1 March 2024, which will...

August 7, 2023
News,
Read more...
01Aug

South Africa’s EPPF builds resilience in governance-focused strategy

South Africa’s EPPF wants to increase its allocation to private equity and venture capital to help ride out volatility at home in a strategy where governance and stakeholder engagement is central. CEO Shafeeq Abrahams explains. South Africa’s R190 billion ($10 billion) Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF) the retirement plan for employees of the country’s electricity utility, is currently building resilience into the portfolio, seeking greater diversification through an increased allocation to alternatives and overseas investments. Elsewhere, EPPF is reviewing...

August 1, 2023
News
Read more...

July 2023
24Jul

Most South Africans don’t have enough for retirement

Deloitte’s South African Investment Management Outlook for 2023 recently revealed that the country’s savings rate sits at only 0,5% and is below that of most emerging market peers. Equally concerning was a report from Genesis Analytics in partnership with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) that showed that 90% of South African retirees cannot maintain the same standard of living prior to retirement. This means that many will most likely need to work even after retirement. Add to this the fact...

July 24, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

June 2023
22Jun

Over 80% of South Africans plan to work past retirement due to insufficient savings: Survey

About 89% of those who participated in the FNB Retirement Insight Survey plan to continue working past retirement age due to a lack of sufficient retirement savings. The survey, which focused on pre-retirement and post-retirement periods, also revealed that the majority of low-income earners are not confident that the retirement plans they have will deliver results due to financial constraints and age. It has also been discovered that about 39% of respondents who don’t currently have a retirement plan in place...

June 22, 2023
News, , ,
Read more...
12Jun

South Africa: ‘Two-Pot’ Retirement System to Kick in On 1 March 2024 – Here’s How It Will Work

The draft legislation governing the first phase of the proposed two-pot system has been published and is open for comment. The long-awaited draft legislation with more details regarding the roll-out of the "two-pot" retirement system was published on Friday afternoon. The changes are being introduced in response to consumers' dire financial stress during the Covid pandemic, when many were unable to access their retirement savings despite having no other money to turn to. The implementation date remains 1 March 2024, and the...

June 12, 2023
News,
Read more...

May 2023
12May

South Africa. Distribution of military veterans’ pensions gains momentum

The Defence and Military Veterans Department says the pension payout for military veterans, who do not have any income, is going full speed ahead. “We have noted the confusion and uncertainty created by the lack of clarity on the part of the Department of Military Veterans officials in their interaction with Parliament’s oversight committee on Defence and Military Veterans,” the department said on Thursday. However, the department clarified that the distribution of the pension is being implemented through the Government Pension...

May 12, 2023
News, ,
Read more...