“Every day in the investment industry, we deal with people in different life stages and with vastly different views on retirement,” says 10X Investments’ Senior Investment Consultant Andre Tuck.
“It’s great to see how seriously some people take their retirement planning, but also alarming that the majority of South Africans still do not have an adequate retirement plan in place. Especially since it really isn’t actually that complicated.”
The golden rule is to make a contribution of at least 15% of your gross salary over a 40-year period of employment, in order to retire comfortably. Doing this, you will benefit from the tax break (within limits) that SARS provides and ensure you do not become a burden to your children or extended family.
Changing jobs provides some access to previously untouchable pension or provident savings - but you cash out at your peril. You don’t only lose access to that sum at a later stage - you also lose the compound interest you would have earned on it over the years.
It’s better in the long term to preserve the full value of your pension or provident fund in a preservation fund in order to grow it tax-efficiently until you retire at a future date.
Stick to this rule every time you change jobs, and your future self will thank you for securing an independent retirement. The wonder of compounding will ensure that the capital value will grow in an underlying, well-balanced portfolio to give you the best chance of outperforming inflation over time.
For the average employee, the days of retiring early are long gone (mostly due to inadequate retirement savings). So plan to keep earning for as long as you can - even if it’s just a small side hustle. This will have a direct impact on your retirement: you’ll contribute more money, give compound interest a longer time to work for you, and only start to draw income from your investments later.
Many people realise too late that they may spend a long time in retirement - possibly even decades. If you want a better chance of sustaining your lifestyle, having some sort of earned income for as long as possible takes the pressure off of your investments and greatly improves your shot at a comfortable and stress-free retirement.
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