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Urgent need for a TER for beneficiary funds: Trustees need a meaningful comparison on fees and services

04 March 2015

Retirement fund trustees electing to pay minors’ death benefits into a beneficiary fund are battling to make meaningful comparisons among the services and fees offered by service providers. The industry urgently needs to develop a total expense ratio (TER), similar to that developed in the investment fund industry, says Fairheads Benefit Services, a leading independent service provider.

Topping up your retirement annuity

10 February 2015

When, why and how?

When to take your retirement benefit

05 February 2015

For most employees, their retirement is something that they look forward to and start planning way before their last day of work arrives. They have it all sorted – how much of their retirement benefit they will take as a lump sum, how much will be used to buy a pension, with which provider they will buy the pension, and what type of a pension benefit they will buy. But what about those for whom retirement comes unexpectedly? Those who were so focused on the pre-retirement phase of their life that they did not have the time to focus on the post-retirement phase. Or maybe they did not want to face the reality of them having to leave the “safety” of their work-life for the uncertainties of life thereafter. There are also those employees that do not need an income immediately after they retire, either because they then start another job or have other sources of income.

A guide to retirement products: choose the best for you

22 January 2015

In the past, planning for the ‘golden years’ was a simple exercise; people who worked for large companies were given a defined benefit pension on retirement, meaning they received a substantial percentage of their working salaries during their retirement years. It was a privilege to belong to these pension funds and it was affordable because retirees did not live for prolonged periods once in their golden years. Things are very different now; companies struggle to afford this kind of pension scheme, as life expectancy has significantly increased. Fortunately, people today have a wide variety of retirement plans to choose from. Understanding the different products is vital, as choosing the wrong one can mean you miss your retirement objectives. Krisen Rabindra, National Sales Manager at Standard Bank Financial Consultancy has the following advice to help you understand the pension products better.

quick poll

Question

If you had to hazard a guess, when do you reckon the COFI Bill will be signed into law?

Answer

2026, as promised 2027 looks more likely Impossible to say More consultation needed

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