February 2025
06Feb

South Africans withdraw R43 billion from pensions

Since the launch of the two-pot retirement system in September, more than 2.4 million South Africans have withdrawn a total of R43 billion from their pension funds. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) confirmed this last Friday evening. According to SARS, 2,664,279 applications for tax directives were received, with 2,403,379 approved. The remaining applications were rejected due to issues such as incorrect identity numbers and tax numbers. SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter exprncern over 213,654 taxpayers who declared incorrect taxable income to secure a...

February 6, 2025
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January 2025
15Jan

One in five take cash from pension at earliest opportunity: L&G

One if five pension savers who withdrew a cash lump sum from their pension did so as soon as they turned 55.  The figures from Legal & General, show that a significant proportion of people are accessing their pensions at the earliest opportunity, with the vast majority failing to seek advice on the potential financial consequences of this action. More worrying almost half (46 per cent) of those accessing this money at the earliest opportunity said the took these funds “because...

January 15, 2025
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December 2024
05Dec

South Africa. Survey shows that withdrawals will be used to repay debt

A new survey sheds light on what pension fund members want to use the money for when they withdraw some of their retirement savings under the two-pot retirement system, while it also shows how much (or little) people know about this big change to pension funds. The survey was conducted by JustMoney.co.za, a platform that helps South Africans make good money choices. Sarah Nicholson, operations manager at JustMoney, says among respondents considering withdrawing funds, 79% said they would use the money...

December 5, 2024
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03Dec

Low-Income Nigerians Can Access Entire Pension Pot – PENCOM

Low-income pensioners can now withdraw their entire retirement savings at once or continue receiving their monthly pension while awaiting the Minimum Pension Guarantee approval. In a memo issued by the National Pension Commission, signed by A.M. Salem, the Head of the Surveillance Department said that the change aligns with the new section 4.1 (g) of the revised regulations for managing retirement and terminal benefits, following the recent minimum wage increase to N70,000. Previously, retirees could only withdraw one-third of their total Retirement...

December 3, 2024
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November 2024
20Nov

South Africans Withdraw $1.94 Billion From Pensions

South Africans have withdrawn 35.1 billion rand ($1.94 billion) from retirement funds since new laws came into effect three months ago giving them early access to part of their savings. The figure is higher than the amount the National Treasury forecast savers would tap after the implementation of a so-called two-pot pension system on Sept. 1. South Africa’s central bank has said that a high-withdrawal scenario may help boost the country’s economic growth rate by as much as 0.3 percentage...

November 20, 2024
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04Nov

Pension warning: Britons withdrawing £500 a month face ‘very real threat’ of running out of money in retirement

Britons are warned they could run out of money in retirement if they withdraw £500 a month from their pension. The warning comes from the Retirement Income Market data from the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which showed that well over 220,000 pension pots had a withdrawal rate of more than eight per cent in 2023/24. This surge in high withdrawal rates has raised alarms among financial experts as pension drawdown continues to be the most popular option. Almost 280,000 savers...

November 4, 2024
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October 2024
18Oct

The Impact of Lump-Sum Retirement Withdrawals on Labor Supply: Evidence from Peru

By Carla Moreno & Sita Slavov  We examine the labor supply impact of a 2016 policy that allows retirementeligible individuals covered by Peru’s private pension system to receive retirement benefits as a lump sum rather than as an annuity. We present a theoretical model predicting that, for liquidity constrained workers, the lump sum option makes formal employment (requiring pension participation) more attractive relative to informal employment (not requiring pension participation); it also encourages early retirement. Using household panel data, we...

October 18, 2024
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18Oct

UK. Tax-free withdrawals from pension pots surge amid fears over autumn budget

Savers have started to withdraw cash from their pension pots amid fears over potential tax changes at the autumn budget, according to investment companies. The investment platform AJ Bell said reports that the chancellor, Rachel Reeeves, was likely to increase taxes at the budget on 30 October had spooked some of its customers into new retirement savings decisions. The wealth management firm Quilter, which manages more than £113bn of customers’ money, also said it had experienced a surge in calls from...

October 18, 2024
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September 2024
13Sep

South Africa. Over 63,000 government employees dip into their two-pot retirement funds, says GPAA

The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) has confirmed that that more than 60,000 public sector employees have made applications to make withdrawals from their savings pot of the two-pot retirement system. According to the GPAA, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEFP) has received a little under 63,000 two-pot retirement system applications since September 1, 2024. In terms of two-pot retirement system enquiries, the GPAA said it has received a high number of applications from its members, which include teachers, nurses, police officers and other...

September 13, 2024
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August 2024
21Aug

South Africa. Two-pot retirement system: fewer early withdrawals, more financial optimism

While many South Africans who are members of pension funds are counting the days until they can withdraw from their savings pot under the two-pot retirement system, research suggests that fewer people plan to dip into their retirement savings early, probably thanks to financial optimism as the economy improves. According to the 2024 Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor that took a deep dive into the two-pot retirement system, the number of working South Africans with retirement savings provision (income...

August 21, 2024
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