Just SA releases findings from Just Retirement Insights 2026

Just SA has released the latest findings from Just Retirement Insights 2026, a study tracking how South Africans approaching or living in retirement are planning, prioritising and experiencing retirement.

Now in its seventh wave, Just Retirement Insights has been conducted periodically since 2015. The study remains one of the few South African research programmes focused exclusively on pre‑retirees and retirees.

Key findings

• Planning for retirement is widespread, but confidence has fallen sharply (46% in 2026 vs 63% in 2024) about covering monthly expenses if living to age 100.
• Caution and lower risk appetite persist post‑2020, with recoveries proving only partial after periods of stress.
• Preference for a secure, guaranteed monthly income is strikingly consistent (approximately 77%–86% across study waves since 2015).

Designed to provide a consistent, evidence‑based view across economic cycles, the study tracks how retirement experiences and perceptions evolve over time. This contributes to a more informed discussion on retirement income adequacy and outcomes in South Africa.

Planning has become more common, but confidence has weakened

The 2026 results indicate that financial planning behaviour remains widespread. Around four in five respondents report actively setting financial goals – a materially higher level than seen in earlier years. However, confidence has not kept pace with planning. Only 46% of respondents in 2026 said they felt confident that their money would cover their monthly expenses if they lived to age 100, a decline from 63% in 2024.

While many respondents appear to be doing more to plan financially, a significant proportion remain uncertain or worried about whether their savings will be sufficient, particularly in the context of inflation, cost‑of‑living pressures and market volatility.

In other words, people are taking more steps, but today’s environment has made them less sure those steps will be enough.

Rising pressure, unchanged priorities

The 2026 findings suggest that while retirees’ core priorities have not changed, the strain on retirement resources has become more visible. Generating income for life continues to rank as the most important objective, alongside covering medical and long‑term care costs and meeting ongoing debt obligations. Discretionary goals, such as lifestyle spending and leaving an inheritance, remain important but appear to be increasingly constrained.

Caution is still elevated

There has been a shift in savings behaviour from the heightened financial discipline observed during the pandemic. Agreement with statements that prioritise spending over saving has increased since 2020 (now 33% in 2026) but are not as high as pre-pandemic levels. Overall, people may be spending less by preference and more by necessity. This suggests that caution and anxiety, once established, may persist even as conditions stabilise.

Risk tolerance shows a similar pattern. Appetite for investment risk improved after the sharp decline seen in 2020, but it has not returned fully to earlier levels. The data suggests that risk tolerance is sensitive to economic pressure and tends to rebound only partially after periods of stress.

Capacity for loss remains limited

When asked how much they could afford to lose in a market downturn before it materially affected their retirement plans, only 8% of respondents described themselves as resilient to losses. For most retirees, even a modest market decline would pose a real risk to their retirement security. This highlights the gap between a theoretical willingness to take investment risk and the practical capacity to absorb losses when markets fall.

Preference for certainty is remarkably consistent

Despite shifts in confidence, spending behaviour and risk tolerance, retirement income preferences have stayed strikingly consistent over time. Across all study waves, a strong majority of respondents prefer a secure, guaranteed monthly income over an income that could vary with investment returns. Since 2015, this preference has remained tightly clustered between approximately 77% and 86%.

When asked to prioritise how retirement savings should be used, respondents consistently rank income that lasts for life, protection against inflation, and income stability ahead of flexibility, discretionary spending or legacy considerations.

Retirement risk is not just financial, it’s behavioural. And under pressure, biases shape decisions and amplify risk.

Further analysis and thematic insights from Just Retirement Insights 2026 can be found at www.retirementinsights.co.za.