I help parents build wealth that outlives them. The greatest financial gift you can give a child is not money, it is time: a small monthly amount started at birth becomes a head start no salary will ever catch. See it for yourself below, then book a free 30 minute meeting.
See the Kickstart effect Book a free meetingStart a retirement annuity for your child at birth with R1,000 a month, increasing only with inflation, and by 65 it grows to around R4 million in today's buying power, over R130 million in future rands. Someone who only starts at 30 must save more than four times as much every month to catch up. That is the Kickstart: you cannot give them time back later.
The monthly amount increases with inflation each year, so all results are in today's buying power.
Even if you only fund the first 18 years and never add another cent, the head start keeps compounding for life. Illustration only, in a retirement annuity the growth is also completely tax free.
A quick check in today's money. Move the sliders or type exact amounts. The result shows the capital you are on track for against the capital you would need, and what to save monthly to close any gap.
Monthly saving is assumed to increase with inflation each year, so results are shown in today's money.
All values in today's buying power. This is a simplified illustration, not advice. Book a meeting for a full retirement plan.
Small amounts, started early, do the heavy lifting. Pick an investment style and see what steady monthly investing can build.
Returns are illustrative and not guaranteed. Values before inflation and fees.
Education costs rise faster than normal inflation, around 9% a year. Pick the study path, set your child's age, and see what to put away monthly so the fees are covered when they turn 18.
Fees shown in future rands at 9% education inflation. Savings keep earning returns during the study years.
A retirement annuity is one of the few places SARS actively pays you to save. Here is what the current rules give you.
Contributions to retirement funds are tax deductible up to 27.5% of your taxable income or remuneration, capped at R430,000 a year for the 2027 tax year. Anything above the cap rolls over to future years, so nothing is lost.
Inside the fund you pay no income tax, no dividends tax and no capital gains tax. Your money compounds without the drag that taxable investments carry.
From age 55 you may take up to one third as a cash lump sum. The first R550,000 of retirement lump sums over your lifetime is taxed at 0%. The rest buys an income for life.
Retirement fund benefits fall outside your estate, so they are not eaten by executor's fees, and they are protected from creditors. They pass to your dependants under the fund's rules.
Since September 2024 one third of your new contributions goes to a savings pot you can access once per tax year in an emergency (taxed at your marginal rate), and two thirds goes to a retirement pot that stays preserved for retirement.
If you earn R50,000 a month and contribute R5,000 to an RA, SARS effectively refunds a large slice of it at your marginal tax rate. Many clients use their annual tax refund to boost the next year's contributions.
Wealth plans fail when life goes wrong and there is no safety net. These four covers are the foundation under everything else.
Replaces your income and settles debt if you pass away, so your family keeps the house, the schooling and the plan. The question is not whether you love them, it is whether the number is right.
If illness or injury ends your career, a lump sum or monthly benefit keeps your world running. Your ability to earn is your biggest asset. Insure it like one.
A cancer, heart attack or stroke diagnosis brings costs medical aid does not touch: recovery time, travel, home changes, lost income. This benefit pays cash directly to you.
Pays you a monthly income when you cannot work, temporarily or permanently. For most professionals this is the single most important policy they will ever own.
Straight answers, no jargon.
Compounding means your growth earns growth. Each year's returns are added to your pot, and next year you earn returns on the bigger pot. Early on it looks slow. Later it snowballs.
Example at 10% a year, saving R2,000 a month:
| After | You put in | Pot is worth |
|---|---|---|
| 10 years | R240,000 | about R400,000 |
| 20 years | R480,000 | about R1.44 million |
| 30 years | R720,000 | about R4.13 million |
Notice the last 10 years added around R2.7 million while you only put in R240,000 more. That is why starting early matters more than starting big.
A retirement annuity (RA) is a personal retirement fund you control, separate from any employer. You contribute monthly or in lump sums, SARS gives you a tax deduction of up to 27.5% of your income (capped at R430,000 a year), and the money grows completely tax free until retirement, which can be any time from age 55.
At retirement you may take up to one third in cash (the first R550,000 of lifetime lump sums is tax free) and the rest becomes a monthly income. It is the workhorse of most South African retirement plans.
A useful rule of thumb is 15% of your income towards retirement if you start in your 20s. Start at 35 and it is closer to 20% to 25%. Start at 45 and you are looking at 35% or more, which is why waiting is expensive.
The honest answer depends on what you already have, what lifestyle you want, and when you want to stop working. The retirement calculator above gives you a first estimate in two minutes. A proper plan takes one meeting.
Since September 2024, retirement funds are split into two pots. One third of your new contributions goes into a savings pot that you may withdraw from once per tax year (minimum R2,000) if you truly need it. Withdrawals are taxed at your marginal income tax rate, so it is expensive money.
The other two thirds sits in a retirement pot that stays locked until retirement. That is a feature, not a flaw: it protects your future self from your present self.
No, but the strategy changes. With 15 to 20 working years left you still get meaningful compounding, and your peak earning years are usually ahead of you. At 45, saving R8,000 a month at 10% builds around R5.7 million by 65.
What matters now is maximising the tax breaks, choosing the right vehicles, and not taking panic risks to catch up. That is exactly the kind of plan I build with clients every week.
They do different jobs. An RA gives you a tax deduction now, unlimited annual contributions within the 27.5% rule, and discipline because the money is preserved. A tax free savings account (TFSA) has no deduction, is limited to R36,000 a year and R500,000 over your lifetime, but every cent of growth and withdrawal is tax free forever and you can access it any time.
For most people the answer is both: RA for the retirement engine and the tax refund, TFSA for flexible long term goals. The right split depends on your tax rate and your timeline.
Maybe not much life cover yet, but you absolutely need income protection and severe illness cover. Your biggest asset is 40 years of future income. If illness or injury switches that off at 28, no amount of budgeting fixes it.
Here is the part nobody tells you: cover is cheapest and easiest to get while you are young and healthy. Lock in insurability now and increase it when the spouse, bond and kids arrive.
The first meeting costs you nothing except 30 minutes. We look at where you are, where you want to be, and whether I can add value. If we work together after that, all fees and commissions are disclosed upfront in writing before you sign anything. No surprises, ever.
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