Sue Torr
Life annuities generally cease to exist on the death of the policyholder, except in the case of joint life annuities in which case the surviving spouse will continue to receive an annuity income for the remainder of his life or
As draw-downs from a living annuity are limited to between 2.5% and 17.5% of the value of the investment per year, many investors use the one-third withdrawal option strategically to ensure that they don’t run into cashflow problems later in
Your future self will thank you for beginning your investment journey early in your career even if your retirement plans are unclear. The most tax-efficient way to achieve this is by investing towards an approved retirement fund and claiming the
As legislation currently stands, you can invest a maximum of R36 000 per year towards tax-free savings with a lifetime contribution maximum of R500 000 which, while not sufficient as a retirement funding vehicle, can be used to supplement one’s
Despite what many investors believe, there is no correlation between investment fees and returns, so don’t fall into the trap of thinking that by paying more, you’re guaranteed higher rates of return.
Once you’ve maximised your retirement fund contributions, consider enhancing your long-term savings by investing through a tax-free savings account (TFSA). Or, if you already have a TFSA in place, consider maximising your annual allowable contributions.
f selecting a fund or combination of funds is overwhelming, you may want to consider using a multi-manager. Asset management and the selection of underlying unit trusts require an enormous amount of expertise and skill, and a multi-manager approach has
If you have a large portion of your accumulated wealth invested in your business, then it is important to consider what will happen to your business interests in the event of your death. It is likely that you intend for
Contributions to approved retirement funds are tax deductible up to a limit of 27.5% of taxable income, capped at an annual limit of R350 000, but this does not mean that you can’t contribute more without still reaping tax benefits.
Key to the validity of a trust is that the trust founder relinquishes full control of the assets transferred to the trust. It must be clear that the trust founder hands over control of the assets to his nominated trustees
