-
RA vs. DIRECT INVESTMENT
By: INGÉ LAMPRECHT With charges in the retirement industry under scrutiny, and criticism against prescribed asset allocations in some circles, investors may be wondering if they should rather construct their own investment portfolio for retirement. While a retirement annuity (RA) offers tax benefits, some argue that the potential out-performance of a discretionary investment that does…
-
THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT AND YOUR PROPERTY RIGHTS
By: SERAJ HAROUN The purchasers of property that was marketed to them via direct marketing, such as e-mail, will be able to cancel the sale after the property has been registered, and months after the sale agreement was signed, according to the new Consumer Protection Act (CPA). In terms of the CPA, consumers are entitled…
-
SEVEN REASONS TO CONSIDER SETTING UP A TRUST
By: CLIVE HILL Trusts are commonly used to ‘freeze’ the value of assets, so that when the person who transferred them to the trust dies, they won’t form part of their deceased estate. Usually, an owner will sell their assets to a trust. The amount of the purchase price payable by the trust might continue…
-
THE LIVING ISSUES OF RETIREMENT
Today both sides of the generation groups seem to prefer independence’ for the elderly or reliance on some or other communal compound or institution. So one of the most important decisions one has to make before (or early on in) retirement is where to stay. Equally important is whether it is a final move, or…
-
WILL MY RETIREMENT CAPITAL LAST IF I DRAW 4%?
A more conservative drawdown approach could go a long way to ensure a sustainable level of retirement income in an environment of lower expected returns. South Africans have been spoiled by returns. In the few years leading up to the financial crisis, many fund managers were very comfortable to have a relatively high net equity…
-
IS IT BETTER TO INVEST IN SHARES DIRECTLY?
Investing in the stock market may sound like a smart thing to do, much more trendy than investing in unit trusts. If you have the money and the expertise to do it, investing directly in shares on the JSE can be very rewarding, but if you are able to invest only small amounts, and/or you…
-
FPI’S 10 TIPS ON CHOOSING A FINANCIAL PLANNER
The Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) has the following 10 tips for you if you are looking for a planner to help you with your finances and investments: Be prepared. Do some research to familiarise yourself with financial planning terms and strategies. While a good financial planner will explain things to you, understanding…
-
RETIREMENT REFORM IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW ACT
The Taxation Laws Amendment Act 23 of 2015, which was promulgated on 8 January2016, kicks off the long-awaited retirement reform process. The aim of this first fledgling step towards broad reform is to harmonise the tax deductibility of contributions to all types of retirement funds, as well as provide for the compulsory annuitisation of at…
-
A FRESH APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Can we use employee benefits to save for more than just retirement? Only 4.7 percent of retirement fund members who retired in2015 had enough retirement savings to provide them with an income or pension of 75 percent or more of their final salary, Alexander Forbes, South Africa’s largest retirement fund administrator says. This and other…
-
DRAFT ‘AMNESTY’ LEGISLATION CHANGES TAX CALCULATION ON OFFSHORE ASSETS
Income Tax The revised draft legislation on the special voluntary disclosure programme (SVDP) proposes to simplify how tax will be calculated on offshore assets derived from undeclared income. The SVDR which was announced in this year’s Budget speech, will provide taxpayers who have been dodging tax on their offshore assets or who have contravened the…
Archives
Investments
Stay up to date with the latest financial news, tax updates, and expert insights from our team.
