Just in the Media

Just features in the Winter edition of SILVER DIGEST (page 22) and covers some options to consider to make your retirement income more sustainable in an environment where current regulations do not allow you to split your living annuity after retirement.

"Reintroducing the with-profit annuity: There is another type of life annuity that is making somewhat of a comeback at the moment, namely the with-profit annuity. Commentators single out Just SA, Liberty, Momentum, Old Mutual and Sanlam as the main life insurers in the with-profit segment," says FA NEWS

The next DAILY MAVERICK op-ed by Bruce Cameron says by adding five years to your working life, you can improve your retirement savings by about 20-30% and reduce the time you will spend living off your savings. Just CEO Deane Moore provides an example of how delaying retirement can help you.

Bruce Cameron's latest DAILY MAVERICK op-ed says: "Those retirement funds offering default annuities, which include the hybrid option, are probably offering you the best retirement option, particularly if you have not saved enough for retirement."

“This [a blended living annuity] provides the best of both worlds allowing for the important aspects of the living annuity, with its legacy, income flexibility and market participation; and the with-profit annuity with its income security that ensures your income if you die, even well into the future” says John Anderson, head of research at Alexander Forbes in Bruce Cameron's most recent DAILY MAVERICK op-ed.

NETWERK24: If there is one lesson that living under lockdown has taught us, it’s that we are able to survive on less. Lockdown has afforded a timely opportunity to understand what regular spending can be considered essential and how this is impacted during the time of COVID-19. Twane Wessels says this is especially important for those in or approaching retirement, who must ensure that their retirement income is able to sustain them for life.

“Hybrid annuities will help to optimise the pension benefits to balance the competing objectives pensioners face. Hybrid annuities provide a sustainable income on the one hand, versus having flexibility for unforeseen events and the ability to leave an inheritance on the other,” says John Anderson in Bruce Cameron's DAILY MAVERICK op-ed on hybrid (blended) annuities.

[Related article: HYBRID ANNUITIES: SOME OF THE CHOICES]

MOONSTONE reports that Covid-19 has certainly changed the thinking about life annuities significantly. Guaranteed products fell from grace during the time of positive returns, with living annuities making up the bulk of sales. Now is not a bad time to reconsider the peace of mind provided by guaranteed products until, and if, sanity returns to the markets.

In his latest op-ed for DAILY MAVERICK, Bruce Cameron says that the best way to overcome the disadvantages of living annuities and guaranteed annuities is to use both. This becomes even more important with COVID-19 and the downgrading of South Africa’s credit rating.

If you are within about five years of retirement and your savings have taken a hit with the recent market falls, there are some things you need to think about, writes Laura du Preez in a recent SowetanLIVE article featuring Just CEO, Deane Moore.