Just in the Media

This is the first article in a Business Report series on planning for retirement, focusing on the different phases of the journey. Over the course of the series, we will also look at the transition phase, the active phase, the passive phase and the late retirement phase. 

Just SA is pleased to announce the appointment of Prof Prieur du Plessis as its new Board Chairman, effective from April 2023. Prof du Plessis succeeds Peter Doyle.

With consumer confidence crashing to its lowest level in three decades in the second quarter of 2022, there is a pressing need to reassure and reignite hope for a more sustainable and resilient future. How can we unlock the collective financial, intellectual and developmental resources of our Rainbow Nation to progress?

A Soweto-based charity started by Just SA underwriter, Lerato Thusi, and friends has been feeding pensioners in long queues at the Post Office every month since September 2021. The feeding scheme is now a beacon of hope for pensioners in the local communities of Orlando East and Meadowlands.

How do you weigh up the pros and cons and make a balanced decision on whether a retirement village is the right move for you? The role and requirements of the 'retirement village' are constantly changing with many establishments modernising their facilities to support the needs of their residents. Do your homework, draw up a realistic budget and most importantly chat to your financial adviser so you're well informed to make the right decision for you and your family/support system.

Gareth Stokes chatted to Just SA CEO Deane Moore about a pension funding solution that allows clients to incorporate aspects of both life and living annuities into a blended annuity solution. 

Now is a good time for retirees to secure a guaranteed income for life. According to retirement income specialist Just, if your retirement savings were invested in balanced funds through the market turmoil of 2020, it is currently possible to secure a guaranteed income for life that is more than 15% higher than it would have been had you invested on 1 January last year.

A surefire way to secure a stable income in retirement is through a life annuity. But the biggest detractors from a life annuity are often the perceived lack of flexibility, as well as the belief that leaving a capital legacy for beneficiaries is not possible.

Historically, the inability to adjust income from a life annuity has led to many retirees self-insuring against running out of money and is the reason why many South African retirees opt for a living annuity.

Soon-to-be-retirees have many options to consider to ensure their retirement and discretionary savings work best for them in retirement. If you have diligently saved for retirement, you don’t pay income tax on contributions paid into a retirement fund or retirement annuity, nor on the investment build up within these retirement vehicles. But when you retire and start taking the money out, it will be taxed as income.

Risks in retirement are not new but may have been exacerbated with the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on lifestyles. Yet there are some practical steps that you can take to best achieve health and wealth in retirement, regardless of market conditions.