Annuity types

Retirement is probably the only time you can justify spending your life’s savings. With current laws requiring that pensioners buy a living or life annuity product with at least two thirds of their retirement savings when they retire, it’s also likely to be a gift that you buy yourself and may not be wrapped as you would expect.

South Africa’s rising short-term interest rates have inflicted some financial pain on consumers by increasing the cost of living, but long-term bond yields have also risen, which means that life companies are able to offer higher annuity rates.

Understanding the different product options available when you retire is vital to protect yourself from rising inflation and reduced purchasing power. At the very least, you should try secure an income to at least cover your essential expenses.

This article discusses the impact of inflation on retirement income and how you can incorporate a guaranteed annuity into your plan to help you achieve a secure financial future.

Just SA Business Development Manager Paul Truscott discusses the importance of emotions attached to making retirement income decisions.

Clients are at the heart of our business and we believe that there is a product within our suite that would assist with this financial, but highly emotional decision.

Understanding terminology surrounding retirement is a good first step in gaining confidence about your retirement needs, and the right financial products to meet those needs. With that in mind, Jaco Pienaar aims to explain different annuity terms.

While retirees' attention traditionally centers around not wanting to lose capital at death, along with an inherent desire to retain flexibility and defer big financial decisions, we believe financial advisers have an important role to play in helping to reframe the narrative surrounding annuity options in retirement.

Many pensioners invested in a pure living annuity run the risk of using up their retirement savings too soon, which could lead them to become a burden in their final years.

There is a window of opportunity for pensioners to lock in certainty of income for life, against an increasingly uncertain and volatile future.

Our experience has seen retirees make the same errors time and time again when it comes to important decisions about retirement income. There are five common mistakes that you should try to avoid.

While no annuity products score full marks on their ability to address every retirement risk and need effectively, by comparing them we can see how annuity innovation has yielded products that suit a range of circumstances and risk appetite.