While noble in its aim, the establishment of a National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is largely unworkable. In August, the department of Social Development issued a Green Paper on Comprehensive Social Security and Retirement Reform, which outlined a...
Death claims statistics released recently by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) have shown a massive 44% jump in lives lost with an overall increase of 64% in the value of claims paid compared to the previous year....
The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) is concerned with the increase in the number of unclaimed benefits and wants to pay them out. If you are a former government employee who did not claim a pension on retirement, it is possible that you...
Have you ever wondered how your money behaviour compares to that of your peers? Where do they save? What do they spend their money on and how much debt do they have? On this edition of Money Matters, we chat to Akash Dowra, Head of Client Insights...
South Africans seem to live in constant fear of the government going after their savings. New tax rules for emigrants' retirement funds is just the latest development to fuel this anxiety. Andre Tuck, Senior Investment Consultant at 10X...
Mapalo Makhu (@womanandfinance) rejoins Maya (@mayaonmoney) on the My Money, My Lifestyle podcast after taking a break to have her second child. She shares her experiences of having a child while having to meet client deadlines, and emphasises the...
Tax Consulting SA gives the lowdown on a new draft tax bill which essentially proposes an additional exit tax on retirement funds. It is not uncommon for National Treasury and the South African Revenue Services (SARS) to propose, and subsequently...
Many employees don't understand the complex tax calculations made by their companies and they often question these deductions. According to tax specialist Tanya Tosen, there are five key things an employee needs to understand when it comes to their...
According to the Experian Consumer Default Index, repayment of car debt has shown a marked deterioration as the extended Covid-19 lockdown puts South Africans under more financial pressure. Marc Friedman, CEO of car sale platform Weelee.co.za says...
If you are struggling to get your claims processed or not receiving your benefits, help is at hand with the recent establishment of the Government Employees Pension Ombud (GEPO). The state is the largest employer in the country, and the Government...
Did you know that 80% of women will manage their own finances during their lifetime, either because they have remained single, gotten divorced, or been widowed? And the reality is that money and finances are different for women. Why? We know from South African salary...
I often write about the importance of having a financial plan – knowing your goals and how you are going to achieve them. But it is about more than just a financial plan. It is also about how you want to live your life and whether that plan reflects your values. I...
For many working South Africans, the pressure of financially supporting friends and family is unrelenting. Most of us have either experienced a job loss or have a family member who lost an income due to the extended Covid-19 lockdown. It is not surprising then that...
We know from studying history, that entire generations can share a similar money attitude or behaviour based on a major financial event that their generation experienced. People who grew up during the great depression of the 1930s, and those who grew up during World...
Screen scraping can be used by criminals to steal data, but financial services companies are increasingly making legitimate use of this too. Angelique Ruzicka investigates what the process entails and how consumers can protect themselves. Screen scraping can be hugely...
When it comes to understanding the risks in a society, insurers generally offer the best insights. Insurance companies do not have to pay out for deaths that did not happen, and they will apply a risk rating to a behaviour or health status that they believe would...
Unclaimed Benefits Project Lead at Liberty, Kabelo van der Merwe, explains how you can check if you have retirement savings you're not aware of. Millions of South Africans may not be aware of money owed to them as a result of retirement savings they have not claimed....
In his book The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel writes about the difference between being rich and being wealthy. He defines riches as an income you earn, because that allows you to take on the debt to buy the R800 000 car. Wealth on the other hand is an income not...
Jashwin Baijoo, Legal Manager: Africa Tax and Compliance at Tax Consulting SA, suggests a solution for SMEs facing difficulties meeting their tax obligations. In the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, riots erupted in South Africa in early July, with mass looting...
Clyde Parsons, Actuarial Executive at BrightRock, explains why regular users of e-cigarettes are charged smoker rates by life insurers, and what you can do about it. For decades now, we’ve known that smoking is bad for our health – the research has conclusively shown...