Endowments, also known as endowment policies or endowment plans, are essentially savings vehicles provided by life assurance companies.
Endowments can be a good option for you to consider for providing additional income once you reach retirement if you sit in a higher tax bracket.
Let's take a closer look at endowments…
What are endowments?
Endowments are targeted savings plans. T... ››› more
You no doubt know that planning for retirement from a young age gives you the best chance of achieving your financial goals for when you get there.
To really prepare adequately for retirement, you need to spend time now making some decisions. This will help you plan more effectively.
Let's take a closer look…
Work out your retirement budget
When you retire, the expenses you have n... ››› more
When you decide to retire, you need to sort out what you're going to do with your pension.
You can take a third of your retirement savings in a lump sum, the remainder must go towards an annuity.
So what is an annuity? And what are your options picking one?
Read on to find out…
What is an annuity?
An annuity refers to a payment you receive on an annual basis.
When it comes t... ››› more
A retirement annuity is a popular way to save for your retirement.
Since their launch in 1960, many people use them as a way to save for their later years as retirement annuities come with tax benefits.
So how does a retirement annuity work? Who are retirement annuities for? And what are the benefits of using a retirement annuity for saving for retirement?
Read on to find out...
How... ››› more
Making decisions about your retirement and pension isn't easy.
If you're young, it's hard to think about your needs when you reach retirement age. And as you get older, you'll start to worry you don't have enough money to last you through retirement.
One option you have is to save for retirement through a provident fund.
So what exactly is a provident fund? And what are the advantages an... ››› more
When it comes to thinking about retirement and pensions, some of the terminology can be confusing.
So let's get back to basics with pensions and have a look at the two types of company schemes: Defined benefit funds and defined contribution funds.
Here are the main differences between the two…
Defined benefit funds
One type of pension you may come across is a defined benefit fund.... ››› more
It's never too early to start planning for retirement. And this means thinking about a pension or another way of investing for your later years.
So what should you consider when it comes to finding the best pension solution for you?
Read on to find out…
The earlier you start planning for retirement, the better
Read anything about retirement planning and you’ll no doubt come acro... ››› more
If you're investing for your retirement, you may want to take bigger risks when you're younger and move into safer investments the older you get.
The idea here is that you can make up for any losses as you age. But this perhaps isn't the best way to approach your retirement investments.
Let's take a closer look…
Investing for retirement
When you’re younger, retirement seems ligh... ››› more
It's probably not a surprise to learn that many South Africans haven't adequately prepared for retirement and have little or no savings.
Saving for retirement is something that you need to do. How else are you going to support yourself when you're older?
You may think you don't have enough money to save towards retirement, but chances are you do.
Read on to find out more…
Stop was... ››› more
Have you been contributing to a pension fund? Or, do you know someone who has?
The report of the Registrar of Pension Funds put the value of unclaimed pension benefits at just over R20 billion. This amount steadily grew over the past five years.
In fact, the amount of unclaimed pension benefits has almost doubled since 2010 (R10.6 billion).
Whether you're owed R100, R1,000 or R10,000, it... ››› more
When you're saving for retirement (or other goal), the one rule you should never break is never touch your principal amount.
If you touch your principal amount, you're going to damage your future gains.
But once you get a bit older, there will come a time when you can break this rule. So how do you know when it's time?
Read on to find out…
If you’re nearing or in retirement
W... ››› more
Not having enough money for retirement is a worry many people have.
Do you feel you don't have enough money put away? Or have you not even started making any contributions towards your retirement?
Whatever your worries about having enough money for a comfortable retirement, you can sort it out within ten years.
So how is this possible?
Read on to find out…
You just need ten ye... ››› more
Your financial aspirations may differ from your friends or family. But one thing you'll no doubt have in common is you want to build a solid financial backing, especially by the time you reach retirement.
Having a solid financial backing gives you independence and peace of mind.
So how can you achieve financial freedom by the time you retire?
Read on to find out…
How much you need... ››› more
When you put money to work for your retirement, you face investment risk. This investment risk will depend on what assets you invest in.
It's easy to ignore risk and focus on how much your investments for retirement could return.
For example, if you invest in a unit trusts that's shown good performance over the years, there's no guarantee this will continue.
So what risks face your retire... ››› more
Investing for retirement isn't easy. There are so many aspects that can bring you worry. The biggest is seeing a good enough return from your investments.
One way to tackle this is to apply asset allocation to your investments for retirement.
So how does this work?
Read on to find out…
What is asset allocation?
Asset allocation is how you split your investment cash across diffe... ››› more