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20 August 2025
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Story Dr Annelize Oosthuizen
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Photo Supplied
Dr Annelize Oosthuizen, Subject Head of Taxation in the School of Accountancy, University of the Free State.
With the two-pot retirement system having been effective from 1 September 2024, it is important to demystify certain aspects to prevent an unpleasant surprise when you retire. Although there are other complex rules, this article was simplified and does not deal with exceptions. It also does not deal with members of a provident fund who were 55 years of age or older on 1 March 2021. Furthermore, reference to retirement funds is to a pension fund, provident fund or a retirement annuity fund (a discussion on preservation funds is therefore excluded).
Three, not two pots
Firstly, there are effectively three pots and not two.
- The first pot is referred to as the vested component. You will only have this component if you were a member of a retirement fund prior to 1 September 2024. This component consists of the member’s interest (balance) in the retirement fund on 31 August 2024 (the day before the implementation of the two-pot system) after being reduced with the amount of the seed capital that was transferred to the savings pot (see below). This seed capital amount was calculated as the lesser of 10% of the value of the member’s interest in the fund on 31 August 2024 or R30 000. No further contributions will be allocated to this component from 1 September 2024. Upon retirement, one-third of the funds in this component can be taken in the form of a lump sum. The balance will be transferred to the retirement component below and will be paid out in the form of monthly annuities.
- The second pot is the savings component. The opening balance of the savings component is the seed capital that was transferred from the vested component above. Thereafter, from 1 September 2024, one third of your monthly contributions to the retirement fund are allocated to this component.
- The third pot is the retirement component. From 1 September 2024, two-thirds of your monthly contributions to the retirement fund are allocated to this component. The funds in this component can only be accessed upon retirement (i.e. after reaching your retirement age, which is stipulated in the fund rules). Furthermore, upon retirement, the money in this pot is only paid out in the form of monthly annuities (i.e. monthly pensions) and no lump sum can be taken from this pot unless its total value is R165 000 or less.
Withdrawals are taxed unfavourably
Secondly, withdrawing from the savings component before retirement has adverse tax implications.
- From 1 September 2024 onwards, one is allowed to make an annual withdrawal (minimum of R2 000) from the savings component even if you have not yet reached your retirement age and although you are still employed. It is, however, important to remember that such withdrawals are taxed very unfavourably since they are taxed by using the normal progressive tax tables that apply to your other income such as salary. If you wait for your retirement and only withdraw from this savings component upon retirement, the first R550 000 will be tax-free and withdrawals above R550 000 will be taxed at rates much lower than the current progressive tax rates applicable to other income.
- Upon retirement, only the money in the savings component is allowed to be taken as a lump sum. If you therefore withdraw all the money from this pot annually prior to retirement, you will not have any funds available to access as a lump sum on retirement and will only have access to the monthly annuities payable from your retirement component.
Less funds available
Lastly, for those members who have a vested component (i.e. who became members of the retirement fund before 1 September 2024), the old rules still apply to the funds in that component. Therefore, upon retirement, you will still be able to take one third of the value of your vested component as a lump sum. The balance will be transferred to the retirement pot and will be paid out in the form of monthly annuities.
To summarise, even though it might appear lucrative to withdraw from your savings component annually, it is advised that you refrain from doing it unless you really need the funds to fulfill basic needs. Withdrawing prior to retirement has the following adverse consequences:
- Money withdrawn from the savings component is taxed at higher rates than what would have applied had you reached your retirement age and retired. You will therefore not make use of the R550 000 tax-free option.
- You will have less funds available to pay out as a lump sum on retirement. As a simple calculation, had you not withdrawn R30 000 in a single year, conservatively calculated at a rate of 5%, this R30 000 would have grown to R79 599 (R139 829 if a rate of 8% is used) calculated over 20 years that can be withdrawn tax-free when utilising the R550 000 tax-free portion on retirement.
More grey areas than just black and white in history?
2017-12-15
Dr Abraham Mlombo: As a historian, he draws energy
from the people surrounding him.
Photo: Charl Devenish
Very few people understand that their actions and views within a territory stem from their roots or history. To enlighten the reading man on the composition of his base and the intricacies of the powers that are at play, is the work of historians.
Dr Abraham Mlombo is one of these historians, stationed within the International Studies Group at the University of the Free State (UFS).
This research group consists of postgraduate researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and academic staff that focus on African history, although they depart from more traditional study methods a more global perspective. To date, Dr Mlombo's research examined the historical relations between South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. It was a broad study of the political, economic, social, and cultural relations from 1923 to 1953. He plans to continue by truly exploring the connections between South Africa and the region, and how they shaped one another. Dr Mlombo's interests in cross-border history and politics were inspired by his master’s degree in Political Science at Stellenbosch University. He researched his PhD at the UFS.
He draws energy for his work from the people surrounding him, and likes to be part of new experiences with people from different backgrounds. He feels such environments shape the way one works, as well as one’s world view. Dr Mlombo hints that sometimes, and specifically in South Africa, people focus very narrowly on their history and forget that many international links are at play. He sees his work as a historian to help open people's horizons.
Dr Mlombo suggests that future research should include a more critical analysis of how things unfolded during the second half of the 20th century. Writings should include more social- and people-oriented history, because he thinks there are more grey areas than just black and white. Many more interrogations must also follow into the assumptions of historical events and the individuals who played the greatest roles in Southern Africa.