RETIREMENT PART 5: What’s the difference between retirement products?
Nazia Khalon Official retirement products have great tax benefits but come with some restrictions. Understand your options before you commit. Making the decision to start investing for retirement is the first step. The next step is to decide on what tools to use. This means figuring out the difference between retirement products and other products on offer. The range of options to consider can leave you flattened even before you’ve made a start, but the best way to approach these options is to think about your needs and your level of self-control. Some options will give you freedom and flexibility, which may tempt you to withdraw prematurely and lose the benefits of compounding over time. Others will lock you in, but give you great tax deductions in return. Decide on what works for yo
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2018 Budget Speech:
10 things you need to know VAT increased from 14% to 15% Government will raise the lion’s share of the R36 billion in additional taxes in 2018/19 through a one percentage point hike in the VAT rate. This is expected to contribute roughly R23 billion to the fiscus. To limit the impact on poor households, the current zero-rating on basic foodstuffs such as maize meal, brown bread and rice will remain in place. Vulnerable households will also be compensated through an above average increase in social grants, while some relief will be provided for lower-income individuals through an increase in the bottom three personal income tax brackets and the rebates, finance minister Malusi Gigaba said during his budget speech this afternoon. The increase will take effect on April 1 2018. No inflat
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LIVE ON EXPRESSO: Economy Update
Part 1 [embed]https://youtu.be/xFqMlql1wGo[/embed] Part 2 [embed]https://youtu.be/2p91nRRN_u4 [/embed]
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Gap Cover has become a non-negotiable
Increasingly we are experiencing gaps between what doctors charge and what medical aids are prepared to pay, with some doctors charging up to 600% (or 6x) the medical aid rates. The last thing you need is to get caught off guard with a bill your medical aid is not prepared to pay in full. Fortunately Gap Cover offers a solution to this problem, regardless of the medical aid you belong to. The product does exactly what the name implies: it covers the gap between the doctor's fees and medical aid rates. Gap Cover only comes into play when you go for a planned procedure (elective operation). In an emergency, you should be fully covered by your medical aid. After a planned procedure, you will receive three bills. The first bill will be approximately 60%-70% of the total amount and wil
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Avoid expensive medical aid premiums
The sooner you join a medical aid, the better. Here's why: The number of years you have been/not been on a registered medical aid in South Africa can have a big impact on your premium. Any medical aid you consider joining can load your premium according to the Medical Schemes Act. Years count in your favour The medical aid will take your age and deduct it from age 35, which will give the number of years you need to prove you have been on a registered medical aid in South Africa. There will be no loading if you have proof of being on medical aid for all those years. If there is no proof, you can expect the following: • 1 to 4 years = 5% loading • 5 to 14 years = 25% loading • 15 to 24 years = 50% loading • 25+ years = 75% loading Pre-existing condi
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Short-term insurance 101
The more you know about insurance and how the industry works, the better prepared you will be, and the more money you can save. The following are key factors that insurers use to determine the price of car insurance: • Age: If you’re young, your risk of being in a vehicle accident is statistically much higher. You can’t do anything about your age, but some insurers may penalise you less than others. • Claims history: Safe drivers are rewarded with lower insurance premiums. Your history of making claims will directly affect the cost of your insurance. The more you use insurance, the more your insurance will cost. • Credit history: Insurance companies have determined that there is a direct correlation between your credit history and your risk. • Use of vehicle: The
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The Financial Services Industry: Only serving themselves?
John Kay’s critique of the industry, Other People’s Money, looks at the need for reform to avoid another crisis. John Kay is an economist with both academic and corporate experience, and a columnist for the Financial Times. In his latest book, Other People’s Money (R452, Takealot.com http://www.takealot.com/other-people-s-money/PLID34890927), Kay positions himself as a critic of the current incarnation of the financial services industry, suggesting that its usefulness to society has failed to keep pace with its size and the scope of its involvement in the economy. The financial sector serves society and the economy in (at least) four ways. The payments system enables businesses and individuals to pay and receive wages and to buy goods and services. The sector also enables eff
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Banks: Long-term value outweighs the risks
Despite the meaningful risks looming over South Africa’s banking sector, the current combination of attractive dividend yields and relatively cheap valuations presents attractive prospective medium-term returns for investors in local bank shares, despite fairly muted earnings growth expectations in the low- to mid-single digits, according to Craig Butters, equity portfolio manager and banking sector analyst at Prudential Investment Managers. Banking stocks fell sharply in December 2015 on the back of the large jump in bond yields in reaction to the surprise firing of Finance Minister Nene, to levels well below their historic valuations. They have remained under pressure due to the increased risk of a downgrade of South Africa’s sovereign foreign currency credit rating to non-investm
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How to avoid wiping out your equity gains
With high levels of uncertainty both globally and in South Africa keeping market volatility high this year, it’s important for equity investors to recognise that they could be their own worst enemies if they decide to sell out of the market or switch to a different investment after a substantial downturn. By doing this they risk erasing valuable long-term gains they have built up, and not benefiting fully from their existing investment strategy. Over the long term, it has been shown that most investors are not reaping the full benefit of their equity returns. An eye-opening study covering the entire US mutual fund industry, Dalbar’s Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behaviour, has demonstrated how the average US equity investor experienced a return of only 3.79% p.a. over 30 years (
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Tapping into your investments as an income
Whether you’re saving to pay for your children’s education, take a break from work, or even to have more spending money in retirement, setting a plan in motion so you can draw an income from your investments could make that goal a reality. What type of funds should you be looking at that will help you generate an income that’s higher than a simple bank deposit over time? “Enhanced income”-type funds are those that aim to deliver a high level of regular income that will beat a cash or money market return over two to three years. How do they do this? These funds invest in a combination of assets that give you both 1) a steady income stream, and 2) some capital growth over time. This comprises a high proportion of assets like cash and bonds for income, as well as a smaller amou
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Saving for something special?
With so many short-term investment options to choose from, saving for something special like a new car, dream wedding or overseas holiday can be daunting. Leaving your savings in a bank account may feel like the safest and easiest choice, but leaving it there for too long without earning any (or very little) interest can result in it losing its purchasing power over time. How can my savings lose its purchasing power? Each year the cost of goods and services increases by a certain rate, also referred to as inflation. For your money to retain its purchasing power, it will need to grow by inflation or more over the same period. To put this into perspective, if you are saving towards a 10% deposit on a car that costs R240 000, putting aside R2 000 a month over the next 12 months would
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How to have a baby and still reach your investment goals
The happy news needn’t be bad news for your pocket Once the excitement of the news of your baby-to-be has worn off, the practicalities kick in. Where will the baby sleep? (Cue desperate call to architect for plans for an additional room). Where will they go to school? (Whopping deposit to be paid to your private school of choice to go on the waiting list). And, then there’s the consideration of that designer pram you covet, a “baby moon” holiday in Mauritius before your life changes… the list of wants goes on. Before your baby is even born, the bills rack up. Follow this advice to avoid putting your future financial health at risk. #1 Don’t cut back on your investments You’ve projected your savings and investment needs with your financial adviser, and this doesn’t
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LIVE ON EXPRESSO: How to Retire Wealthy
Part 1 [embed]https://youtu.be/027VAwuWzPg[/embed] Part 2 [embed]https://youtu.be/FXzoFF9NleM[/embed] Part 3 [embed]https://youtu.be/W8d2UhcVmzM[/embed]
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LIVE ON EXPRESSO: How to Afford Children Part
Part 1 [embed]https://youtu.be/sYyDrtPQhgQ[/embed] Part 2 [embed]https://youtu.be/q_fRqO-EIOo[/embed] Part 3 [embed]https://youtu.be/0bBJsLNWV1c[/embed]
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LIVE ON EXPRESSO: Buying to Let
Part 1 [embed]https://youtu.be/6yiM_g1NW6I[/embed] Part 2 [embed]https://youtu.be/Kj6CbaDzR1I[/embed] Part 3 [embed]https://youtu.be/LMp8dYR9oks[/embed]
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Ready to retire
My story starts at the end, rather than the beginning. Here I am, it's 2016 and I am finally heading towards 'retirement'. That means I can start to focus on everything I love the most: art, photography and travel. I initially set myself an objective to retire at the age of 55. However, at age 45 – 10 years before that determined date – it became obvious that it was not financially achievable. So I readjusted my retirement date and postponed my exit for age 60. From age 42, I became obsessed with saving and preparing for retirement. Every spare rand was invested and I did whatever I could to consolidate or downscale my life. To simplify it through a range of committed disciplines over the ensuing years. At around age 22, I met a senior and extremely successful businessman,
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Become an Investment Specialist Today!
Yes you can become an investment specialist today! After going through Asset Classes last week, there is just one quick thing we need to look at before we move on to investing into Unit Trusts. I touched on Asset Allocation briefly in the last post, so in this post I will go through Asset Allocation in a little more detail so that you can build a better understanding and knowledge base. Asset Allocation: Asset Allocation is how you divide your investments between the Asset Classes. So it is deciding how much cash, bonds, property and equity you want in your investment. Asset Allocation is, in my opinion, one of the most important decisions you make when it comes to investing and achieving your investment goals. Before you go ahead and select which bonds, equity etc you want
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Making Time Work For You With Investments
Today I am going to give you some handy tips to help you think through investments and financial planning in a simple and basic way. Now that we have touched on Compound Interest and the EFFECTS of Inflation in the last two articles, we can move on to a practical example of how the two work hand in hand with each other and with spending time in the market and not trying to time the market. The example below illustrates not only the importance of compound interest and inflation, but also how to use TIME to your advantage when it comes to investing. I really wish that they taught this to us this in school… Let’s take a basic example and say we have John and Max. John and Max are wanting to invest some money into exactly the same investment that gives a return of 10% and also has
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