As you enter retirement, one of your biggest risks is a delay between when you receive your final salary and the first payment from your pension. This video, as part of a member education series for the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF),...
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Video: Changes to provident funds
On 1 March 2021 the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill of 2020 came into effect. It contains changes that have a direct impact on the members of provident funds. These changes are part of a process to simplify the retirement fund industry and bring...
Don’t ignore your credit providers
The Credit Ombud wants to remind consumers that there are ways to ease the woes that come with being unemployed while having debt, and you shouldn’t just ignore your credit providers. If you’ve just lost your job or have had your salary reduced due...
Supporting your retired parents
Many retirees have not saved enough to meet their financial needs, leaving children with the burden of supporting their retired parents. A retirement survey by Sanlam found that 51% of retirees cannot make ends meet, and one-third do not have...
The true cost of cashing in your pension
Have you heard of the term Sdudla? I recently came across it in relation to members of the GEPF, specifically members who are teachers and nurses. This is the practice of resigning from your post to access your pension fund. As teachers and nurses...
Video: How to stick to your money resolutions
Why is it so hard to stick to our New Year resolutions? We know that if we want to lose weight we need to eat less and exercise more. To grow wealth we must spend less and save more. So why then do we give in and buy the chocolate bar when we...
Should your small business take a Covid loan?
The Banking Association South Africa recently announced that only R17.84bn of the R200bn Covid-19 Loan Guarantee Scheme for small businesses had been approved by banks. The scheme received 48 366 applications of which 27% were approved by the banks...
Surprising increase in household net wealth
South African households’ real net wealth increased by just over R1 trillion since the first quarter of 2020, according to the latest Momentum-Unisa Household Wealth report. Between the start of the second quarter of 2020 (Q2 2020) and the end of...
The 2021 Budget and your money
Ten ways the Budget affects your personal finances: Your tax rate is not going up! In fact, thanks to an above-inflation adjustment to the tax brackets, personal income tax payers receive back R2.2bn. The R40bn tax measures that were proposed in...
Video: No early pension access for GEPF members
Members of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF) can not “borrow” or withdraw from their retirement savings. Cashing in your pension is “stealing” from your future self! This video, as part of a member education series, explains why GEPF...
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Video: Use your tax deductions before 28 Feb
28 February is a very important date for your finances as it marks the end of the financial year. All information up to this date will be included in your 2020/2021 tax return. This includes all tax deductions. Make sure you have made the most of those tax...
Think before you plunder your retirement fund
Right now you may be feeling overwhelmed by debt, but the impact of drawing on your retirement fund will leave you financially destitute at a very vulnerable time in your life when you may be too old to work. You may not have many options in terms of earning an income...
Listen: How to select the right ETF in this crazy market
In this podcast, @Satrix_SA Chief Investment Officer, Kingsley Williams joins Maya Fisher-French (@mayaonmoney) to provide some guidelines around selecting the right ETF for your needs. He also gives us some perspective on the investment landscape for 2021. How do we...
Make sure you receive your retirement benefits on time
As you enter retirement, one of your biggest risks is that you could experience a delay between when you receive your final paycheque and the first payment from your pension. This is true in both the private and public sectors and managing this transition should form...
Video: The 12-month financial plan
If you've decided that this is the year to get your finances under control, try this month-by-month plan so that your finances and admin are all up to date by the end of the year. In January: Update your budget and plan for expenses Write up a budget. Pull out your...
How your marital regime affects estate planning
Christel Botha, fiduciary services manager at Alexander Forbes, looks at the impact that various marriage contracts have in the event of the death of a spouse. The month of love has arrived, and many couples will be getting married, or planning a wedding. It makes...
Protect your loved ones from scams
Some of your relatives and loved ones may be getting on in years and may not be as careful with their finances and cards as they were before. Angelique Ruzicka has some suggestions for things you can do to help protect them from scams. Sadly, there are many scams...
Video: GEPF: Who receives your pension benefits?
One of the questions I receive most often from retirement fund members is about who has a claim to their retirement funds if they die in service. This video, as part of a member education series for the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), explains who is...
How much tax will a TFSA save you?
You could save hundreds of thousands of rands in tax, according to Sanlam Investments. In 2015 National Treasury introduced the tax-free savings account (TFSA) to reignite a savings culture among South Africans. Designed to encourage long-term savings while giving you...
Why do electricity costs differ so much?
Electricity is a major household expense for everyone. This will only worsen in April this year when we expect to see an overall 15% increase in the Eskom standard rate. Trying to understand what the “average” household spends in South African is virtually impossible...