New actuarial research identifies how different investment strategies may prevent capital erosion in living annuities. Adopting an aggressive investment strategy in retirement seems counterintuitive. But new actuarial modelling shows that most...

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Listen: Consider the post-retirement impact of your investment strategy
In this podcast, I chat to certified financial planner Wynand Gouws, wealth manager at Gradidge Mahura Investments and author of To 100 and Beyond. He argues that a retirement strategy aimed at optimising only pre-retirement tax savings is short sighted, and that not...

Video: How we sabotage our retirement
For most of us, retirement is one of our most important goals. Putting away money for our retirement is probably the biggest investment we will make in our lifetime, yet we find so many ways to sabotage our retirement goals. The most common mistake is cashing in our...

GEPF revises resignation benefit
On 1 November, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) revised its actuarial factors. This will have an impact on the resignation benefit of members, in calculation of a divorce order, or for members who exit the fund with fewer than 10 years of pensionable...

The GEPF formula for calculating payouts
The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) is a defined benefit fund. This means the pension received by a member has nothing to do with the investment performance of the fund. A member's pension payout is determined according to the GEPF formula. GEPF members...

The two-pot retirement system explained
On 29 July, National Treasury released its draft legislation on the so-called two-pot retirement system. It highlighted that “the proposal does not include allowing immediate access to retirement funds, but rather moves to a system that can more adequately cater for...

Video: Compounding turns time into money
Have you ever wondered why the rich keep getting richer? It has a lot to do with compounding. This is where your money makes more money when you are doing nothing. For example, you have R100 000 in a unit trust fund which is invested in the stock market. That year the...

Listen: The proposed two-pot system for retirement funds
On 29 July, National Treasury released draft legislation around early access to pension funds and the so-called “two-pot” system. This draft legislation aims at addressing two key challenges facing retirement savings: improving retirement outcomes by introducing...

Listen: Living to 100
More and more people seem to be living to 100 and beyond. Scientists are predicting that the average life expectancy in the UK will hit 100 in 2064. Even today, the chance of a 50-year-old woman living to 100 is almost 1 in 10. For some people that may be a very...

How retirees can reduce their tax
It often comes as a surprise to pensioners that they are still liable for tax. The bottom line is if you receive an income above a certain amount, it will be taxed, but there are certain measures that can be used so retirees can reduce their tax. Most retirees would...

How to make your living annuity income last
Retirees who primarily live off a living annuity income are often haunted by the question: How do I make my income last throughout retirement? “There are four rules that are essential long-term drivers of success for living annuity investors,” says Shaun Duddy,...