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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
By Jean du Toit, Tax Consulting SA. President Cyril Ramaphosa has given effect to the 2020 tax proposals by signing three tax Acts into law. On 15 January 2021, the President gave his assent to the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act No. 22 of...
One of the questions I receive from most retirement fund members is about who has a claim to their retirement funds if they die in service. As a member of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) one of the most important documents you need to keep up to date is...
By Zane De Decker, MD Flyt Property Investment. Did you know that an investment made into a Section 12J registered fund qualifies for a 100% tax refund? What that means, in simple terms, is that 100% of what you invest is deducted from your taxable income by SARS via...
By Ruan van Jaarsveld, Manager at Hobbs Sinclair Advisory. Many South Africans have recently found themselves feeling the need to venture into business outside of the formal, corporate framework. Reasons for this vary, from being retrenched from a salaried position to...
Any changes relating to early access to funds in a private-sector pension fund or RA will have no bearing on members of the GEPF. I have received many queries from readers about the proposal to allow members of retirement funds limited access to their retirement funds...
With the planned re-opening of schools some time over the course of January, parents are bracing themselves for the annual grudge purchase of back-to-school essentials. These including stationery, textbooks, sports kit and other required equipment. Respondents to a...