Just Retirement Insights

Bruce Cameron unpacks the key findings from the latest Retirement Insights, a study targeting retirees and pre-retirees over 50 years old across a range of colour, gender, income groupings, working or retired, education levels, language and marital status. Just SA normally bring out its research every second year, but this year, because of the virus, that has brought out a “lite” edition, to assess the impact of COVID-19 on retirement planning. 

Without an accurate understanding of your current financial situation and discussing your unique retirement needs, it is almost impossible to set realistic and achievable financial goals, let alone work towards them. The assistance of an independent adviser should not be restricted to high-income earners only and we strongly recommend that everyone approaching retirement compare product features and pricing of available retirement solutions with a trusted specialist, in order to make informed choices. This should also help to close the gap between the expectations and reality of retirement.

Two critical retirement planning questions you need to make assumptions about are - how long will I live and how well will I live? We don't have the answers, but there is now more information on the possibilities and probabilities. We need to plan and save for how much income we will need in our later years when we stop working, but we don't know, with certainty, when we will die. So this critical financial planning still involves quite a bit of guesswork, but expert insights can help you avoid costly mistakes.

A guaranteed income for life and leaving an inheritance for loved ones are two of the most important motivators South Africans list when they reach their golden age. This is according to Just Retirement Insight – independent research commissioned by Just – in which South Africans between the ages of 55 and 85 years in the major metropolitan areas were interviewed. When it comes to income in retirement, 89% of survey respondents wanted a guaranteed income for life (up from 86% in Just’s 2015 survey).

Retirement income specialist Just has published a new survey focusing on the saving habits of South Africans, showing that a large number of people expect to rely on their children and grandchildren should they run out of retirement savings. The findings highlight the important role of careful planning to help make informed decisions around the effective use of limited resources.

Findings from Just Retirement Insights feature in this article about things affecting the ability to retire early. According to the article, there are two main drivers which determine if early retirement is even an option for you - how much capital you have, and how much you need to draw to sustain your standard of living

Many South Africans are not doing enough planning when it comes to retirement and think that their savings will generate a pension way beyond what their money can sustain. Annuity provider Just SA recently published its "2019 Retirement Insights" after interviewing more than 500 South Africans between the ages of 50 and 85

The gift of a financial legacy for loved ones has long been a priority for South African retirees when considering their retirement income options – the idea of leaving some financial support to their heirs after death. According to retirement income specialist Just, this is still the case. In their 2019 Retirement Insights study, 80% of pre-retirees and retirees have a desire to leave money for their children and grandchildren. However, the bleak reality is that many South African retirees simply have not saved enough to allow for a secure, regular income to last their full retirement years, let alone leave a legacy for children, says Just CEO Deane Moore.

On average, respondents in "Just Insights", an independent survey commissioned by Just SA, expected a monthly income in retirement of almost R12,000. This implies an expected annual income rate of 8% based on their average retirement savings of R1.8m.