A good retirement plan should take years rather than months to design. In the five years leading up to formal retirement, key decisions regarding living arrangements, healthcare and expenditure need to be made to ensure that the final plan is workable. To ensure that your retirement plan is sustainable, consider the following questions in the years building up to retirement: Where will I live? Where you intend living in your retirement years will significantly impact the rest of your retirement plan, so it is important to give careful consideration to this. Waiting lists for retirement homes a ..read more

Effective estate planning involves making full use of the mechanisms available to you when structuring your affairs and planning the transference of wealth to your loved ones. Like a cog, an estate plan has many moving parts that must work together to achieve a pre-determined set of succession goals. In this article, we explore several useful estate planning mechanisms to assist in the smooth transfer of wealth. Living annuities: Where beneficiaries have been nominated on the investment, funds housed in a living annuity do not form part of your deceased estate and can be efficiently transferre ..read more

Numerous studies have demonstrated a cyclical link between financial worries and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse – with higher rates of mental health issues appearing in those who are heavily indebted. In this article, we explore a number of factors that can cause sleepless nights when it comes to money and finances: Debt Debt is probably the single greatest stressor when it comes to financial planning and, unfortunately, very few South Africans are immune to torments of debt, especially in an inflationary environment. Over the past two years, the c ..read more

Most investors seek offshore investment opportunities to improve diversification, provide for future liabilities or seek alternative market conditions that are not available locally, and there are a number of ways to achieve these goals. Let’s unpack. For the sake of context, it is important to keep in mind that South Africa currently makes up only around 0.7% of the global GDP. As such, diversifying one’s investments across international markets and economies can create a distribution of risk and volatility in one’s portfolio that is less concentrated than a pure South African allocation. In ..read more

In times of heightened negativity or political uncertainty such as we’re facing in the build up to our local elections, many investment pundits encourage South African investors to move their wealth offshore. But knee-jerk reactions to bad news or uncertainty are never optimal, especially when it comes to investing – and negative sentiments or fearmongering should never be the catalyst for taking one’s wealth offshore. If you would like to incorporate offshore exposure in your investment portfolio investing indirectly through a local investment platform, here’s what to know. Diversification: T ..read more

While the tax benefits of tax-free investments are indisputable, a tax-free investment should be viewed as part of your overall investment portfolio to ensure that it is achieving its purpose. Here are 10 ways to ensure your tax-free investment works for you. Utilise your available tax-free savings: Tax-free investments provide tax benefits in that all the growth and income received on the investment are tax-free. This means that you are not liable for any capital gains tax, dividends withholding tax or tax on the interest received.  However, keep in mind that your contributions towards y ..read more

While both life and living annuities are designed to provide retirees with an income throughout retirement, their respective functions in the context of estate planning are vastly different – and it’s important for policyholders to understand these differences to ensure that one’s estate planning goals can be achieved. In this article, we unpack how each type of annuity is dealt with upon the death of the policyholder. What are the key differences between living and life annuities? The first point of departure is to understand the fundamental differences between a life annuity and a living ann ..read more

When setting up your business, deciding between a sole proprietorship, partnership, or private company is crucial, each carrying distinct pros and cons. Picking the right structure for your venture demands careful evaluation. Factors to weigh include: Key features: If you’re planning a one-person business, you may consider running a sole proprietorship which is the simplest form of business entity that involves very little administration – although note that a sole proprietorship is not a legal entity and does not exist separately from the owner. In the case of multiple business partners, the ..read more

Creating an estate plan is essential if you intend to leave assets to minor children. In this article, we take a closer look at how you can safeguard the intended inheritance for minor children taking into account the type of assets, beneficiary nominations, trust options and associated legislation. Bequeathing fixed property When it comes to leaving immoveable property to a minor child, our law makes provision for minor children to own inherited property and to take transfer thereof with the assistance of their legal guardian. This means that if you bequeath fixed property to a minor child, t ..read more

Navigating the world of property and property finance for the first time can be daunting, especially when it comes to applying for finance and securing the most favourable interest rate. In this article, we provide some useful advice for first-time home buyers. Use technology to your advantage: Technological advancements have made shopping for your first home so much easier than in the recent past. Most reputable estate agents now operate interactive websites that allow potential buyers to conduct virtual tours of each marketed property, access 360-degree photos of each room, and filter the pr ..read more