Most people when they retire opt to sell up and buy into a retirement home, as these offer a range of amenities, security and a social life with people of similar ages. There are a range of options available, varying from luxury retirement villages...
PODCAST The recent Western Cape Relative Value Arbitrage Fund (RAVF) scandal that led to suicide shooting of Julian Williams by his associate, Herman Pretorius, is estimated to have lost investors around R1.8 billion. While investors, and financial...
A recent study by Alexander Forbes suggests that today’s average 40 year old will have 30% less funds in retirement than the previous generation due to lower market returns, longevity and lower savings rates relative to income. The Alexander Forbes...
For most young people just getting out of debt is the main priority, however what if you are one of those rare “savers” who have saved a lump sum by the time you are in your early 20’s – where is the right place to invest it and how to you balance...
The discussion document issued by National Treasury on Strengthening Retirement Savings demonstrates that Treasury has a good handle on the issues within the retirement industry, however the challenge will be in finding solutions that are not...
Readers pose questions about whether retirement annuities are worth it; we investigate “I was wondering if you have any advice on RA's as a retirement investment. I have heard a lot of commentary about not going through RA's as they tax you much...
“My husband and I were not able to save towards our retirement as we would have wished, but now, at ages 73 and 74 we have both been able to find employment and have been saving as much as we can. Where can we invest with reasonably good interest...
In the 2011 Budget address Finance Minister Gordhan announced that National Treasury was considering a R200 000 cap on the tax deductibility for retirement savings. It is widely expected that this will be addressed in his budget speech on 22...
If one of your New Year's resolutions is meet with a financial adviser and put a financial plan in place, you need to know exactly what you can expect from your adviser. Financial adviser Warren Ingram who was nominated as the FPI 2011 Financial...
“I have just changed jobs recently. I took part of my provident fund to settle some of my debts and I have learned my lesson so no debts for me. In total I had about R170 000 and I withdrew R70 000. How much do I need to save up for to make up the...
“My company pension fund wants us to choose between the Alexander Forbes Lifestage Model controlled by Alexander Forbes and Investment Solutions or the Balanced Single Fund Manager for the high growth portfolio which is Coronation Fund Managers. From my understanding...
Those facing retrenchment or retirement can look forward to better tax breaks from this year, with retrenchment or retirement tax-free payments increasing from R30,000 in a lifetime to R315,000, effective from the 2012 tax year. This is according the Ron Warren,...
The Crawford Measure has been created by Dave Crawford, a financial educator. It is a simple spreadsheet that helps to calculate whether or not your retirement savings are adequate. It starts with your current living standard and then compares that with the amount you...
“I am a 31 year old dedicated saver and I have two main savings besides my pension and I want to know if they are the right investments. I've been increasing these savings by 10% each year and putting some into my bond. Do you think this will give me the right returns...
"I am looking at possible retirement in 3 to 4 year’s time. The current value of my pension fund is R4.5 million but I have a home loan of R800 000. Should I use part of my fund to settle the bond?" asks David Maya replies: You don’t want to cash in a portion of your...
Investors have endured continuously falling short-term interest rates, which are now reaching 30-year-lows. This begs the question as to what pensioners should do with their investments in the fixed interest domain, given the current environment. Pensioners are...
The average retiree will have generated savings that will purchase a pension of only 30% of the salary they were earning before retirement. It's a gloomy statistic, suggesting that we're either not well informed, are not getting the right advice or are still doing...
If you're thinking of investing in a retirement annuity (RA), consider the advantages according to Rowan Burger, head of investment strategy at Liberty Retail South Africa. "To prevent people from relying on the government to provide for them in their old age, there...
Dumisani asks: In 2009 I took out a retirement annuity with Momentum to supplement my company provident fund. I contribute R500 per month to it. I recently requested that my portfolio of underlying unit trusts to be restructured into a higher risk portfolio and I was...
Can the financial media replace the financial advisor A recent survey by financial services company acsis looked into the financial security of middle income South Africans. They were specifically interested in how secure people felt around their retirement. The...