January 2021

Maximizing Utility of Withdrawals in Retirement and the Efficiency of Required Minimum Distributions

By Chester Chambers We focus on a simplified problem for a risk-averse retiree seeking to maximize utility associated with annual spending and a remaining value at the end of the problem horizon when the funds are extracted from a portfolio that includes a risk-free and a risky asset. To organize discussions about this setting we utilize a novel metric which we label “Efficiency”. This measurement compares the utility derived from annual withdrawals and the final value with a benchmark...

December 2020

Nigeria. Workers withdrew N2.18bn pension savings in Q3 – PenCom

About 1,286 workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme withdrew N2.18bn from the voluntary contributions in their Retirement Savings Accounts with their Pension Fund Administrators in the third quarter. The National Pension Commission disclosed this in its 2020 third quarter report. “During the quarter under review, the commission granted approval for withdrawal of the sum of N2.18bn from the voluntary contribution accounts of 1,286 contributors,” the report stated. The guidelines on voluntary contribution under the CPS states that the main...

October 2020

Will emigrating South Africans be allowed to withdraw their retirement savings?

We have come a long way since publication of the draft tax Bills on 31 July this year, and on 7 October 2020, the Standing Committee on Finance (“the Committee”) heard oral submissions on the proposed tax amendments. As one of the few tax firms who made oral submissions to Parliament, we can confirm the most debated amendment remains the one around government’s intention to impose a three-year lock-in period on retirement funds when a person emigrates. Background...