NEW two-pot retirement system laws passed in South Africa
While the bill does not introduce major structural changes, it provides key clarifications and technical alignments to ensure the system operates efficiently for retirement fund members, administrators, and regulators alike.
Funds now have the option to calculate the initial seed amount (available for early withdrawal) using either 31 August 2024 or the last day of the election month, in line with their rules and member communication.
The bill clarifies how deductions under section 37D (such as divorce or maintenance orders) will proportionally reduce all three retirement components.
Technical updates were made to the definition of a 'retirement annuity fund' to maintain legislative consistency across the system.
The bill follows months of public consultation via Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
National Treasury has confirmed that further changes are expected in upcoming legislative cycles – including the potential removal of the 'one-fund withdrawal' restriction, which currently limits access to funds from only one retirement product.
With the National Assembly's approval, the bill will now proceed to the National Council of Provinces for further review.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
4 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
After the Bell: Our changing lives — a tale of two mergers
At the heart of it really are the promises that Vodacom and Maziv have made — that they will connect hundreds of thousands of homes in low-income areas to broadband fibre internet. There is a wonderful phrase media experts have used to describe to me people who listen to talk radio. They talk about older people, and those who are 'attitudinally interested' in news. The fact you have opened this mail suggests you are 'attitudinally interested' in business, news and our economy. I would use that phrase to describe my vague interest in business when I was younger. Stories about mergers and deals didn't really seem to affect me. So what if two mining companies were now one? The price of platinum didn't really matter to me. But two mergers going through our economy right now will have a huge impact on me. And because of your attitudinal interests, they will affect you too. The first is the Vodacom-Maziv merger. The second is the MultiChoice-Canal+ deal. Together, they show how our society and economy are changing, and what this will mean for how you spend your time. Broadband At the heart of it really are the promises that Vodacom and Maziv have made. As Lindsey Schutters writes in this incredibly useful explainer, they have essentially promised that they will connect hundreds of thousands of homes in low-income areas (think townships) to broadband fibre internet. Now think for a second about how the internet has changed your life. No matter where in the world your family is, having mobile data means you can communicate on WhatsApp. And, if you want, for very little money, you can make a voice call to them. The first time I realised the unbelievable power of this was in 2012. I was on holiday in someone else's very expensive house in Zinkwazi, recovering from the ANC's Mangaung Conference (the recovery from the holiday is a story I need not trouble you with here). The person who ran the house was from Malawi. I went to ask him something and he was in the middle of a call to a family member. Being in the middle of my transition from Nokia to Android, I had no idea such a thing was possible on WhatsApp. Considering the 150-year history of migrant labour in southern Africa, of how so many people have come here from other countries, and lived apart from their families, you can imagine the impact daily voice calls would have for this market. Now there will be a step change. It will not just be voice calls — fibre brings pictures, video calls, a complete change in life. The fact that it is usually un-metered means you can just download as much as you like (the record among people I know is held by a teenager. Somehow she was able to use around 14GB a day … if you can beat that, please get in touch.) This complete freedom of data (that's not strictly accurate, there will be bills to pay for it) means that you can live a completely different life. There are many businesses that are completely online, so there will be no hindrance for people to jump on to this and hopefully make money. Marketing costs For people who run physical businesses, like informal carwashes or hairdressers, their marketing costs will be virtually zero. Social media is all they need. But more than that, hopefully, there will be more access to better-quality education from virtually anywhere in the world. While I no longer believe virtual education is as effective as the physical kind, I still hope that someone somewhere in the world will come up with a system (perhaps for tertiary levels) that is effective for many people. This would hopefully help millions of people build on whatever they have been given by our basic education system (while I believe that millions of people have been betrayed by our schools, there are still many people who have benefited immensely). Considering the awful physical environments in which so many of our people live, anything that helps them have lives outside of this is a fantastically good thing. (This may be why so many shacks have satellite dishes — if you live in a terrible place, entertainment that takes you out of that place is essential.) During the load shedding era, the SA Reserve Bank estimated that a lack of reliable power was costing our economy about 2 percentage points of GDP growth. I can't even begin to imagine what incredibly cheap fibre will do to where people actually live. But it should, surely, help our economy. That said, it is really the bare minimum for us to keep up with the rest of the world. While the Vodacom-Maziv merger is not really driving the MultiChoice-Canal+ merger, one transition is clearly driving the other. Perhaps the biggest class difference between my wife and I is that she grew up with M-Net and I did not. Completely unfairly, she also had Bop TV. Virtual monopoly DStv made millions for a very long time in many places with its virtual monopoly both on entertainment and the live shared event that is sport. That is now under threat simply because with fibre comes streaming and with streaming comes intense competition. The rise of streaming has led to what has been called 'The Golden Age of TV'. This probably ended in 2023, which is why you can still spend so much time on a streaming service on a Friday night looking for something you and your children can all tolerate. The rollout of fibre broadband to millions of people would lead to massive changes in our society. Whether you are attitudinally interested in this transition or not, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more mergers that start to affect you directly as a result of this significant change. DM
The South African
9 hours ago
- The South African
Limpopo man arrested for alleged R1.3 million Ford Raptor fraud
The Hawks have arrested a 27-year-old man from Limpopo for allegedly using fraudulent documents to purchase a top-of-the-range Ford Ranger Raptor worth over R1.3 million. The Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit, in collaboration with the Sekhukhune Tracing Team, apprehended the suspect in Groblersdal. Authorities are withholding his name until he appears in court. According to Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa, the suspect submitted a motor vehicle finance application to WesBank in April 2023. 'He allegedly attached a forged bank statement and a fake employer payslip to support the application,' said Mmuroa. WesBank approved the application, and the suspect was contacted by the dealership in Polokwane to collect the vehicle. He arrived at the dealership accompanied by two other men, who are also under investigation. After collecting the vehicle, the suspect failed to meet his monthly payment obligations. WesBank's attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. A forensic audit later revealed that the documentation submitted during the finance application was fraudulent. The bank reported the matter to the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in Polokwane. In January 2024, investigators arrested a man who allegedly helped the suspect obtain and collect the vehicle. 'The investigation confirmed that the 27-year-old suspect worked with others to defraud WesBank and secure the Ford Ranger Raptor,' said Mmuroa. The suspect is expected to appear before the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Polokwane on 28 July 2025. Limpopo Hawks provincial head, Major General Gopz Govender, welcomed the arrest and praised the ongoing efforts to combat financial crime. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
10 hours ago
- The South African
Here's the good petrol and bad diesel price news for August
The latest petrol and diesel price projections show that there's going to be mixed news at the pumps early next month. While the petrol price is set to drop, the diesel price will hit South Africa's motorists harder in the pocket should market conditions remain the same for the next week. Below, the latest projections as received by The South African website from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), effective Friday, 25 July. FUEL PRICE CHANGE Petrol 93 decrease of 34 cents Petrol 95 decrease of 30 cents Diesel 0.05% increase of 65 cents Diesel 0.005% increase of 63 cents Illuminating Paraffin increase of 29 cents If the market conditions were to remain consistent for the remainder of the month – an unlikely scenario with the rand/dollar exchange rate fluctuating and the oil price ever changing – a decrease of 34 cents is expected for petrol 93 octane motorists and a decrease of 30 cents for 95 users. Meanwhile, diesel motorists would see something between a 63 and 65 cents per litre increase. Finally, illuminating paraffin is expected to rise by 29 cents in price. FUEL PRICE IN SOUTH AFRICA IMPACTED BY TWO MAIN FACTORS: 1. The international price of petroleum products, driven mainly by oil prices 2. The rand/dollar exchange rate used in the purchase of these products Oil price At the time of publishing the brent crude oil price is $68.71 a barrel. Exchange rate At the time of publishing the rand/dollar exchange rate is R17.83/$. The final overall price changes for both petrol and diesel will be confirmed early next month with the new prices taking effect at midnight on Tuesday, 5 August 2025. Go easy on the accelerator until then, Mzansi. INLAND July Petrol 93 R21.79 Petrol 95 R21.87 Diesel 0.05% R19.35 Diesel 0.005% R19.41 Illuminating Paraffin R13.16 COASTAL July Petrol 93 R21.00 Petrol 95 R21.04 Diesel 0.05% R18.52 Diesel 0.005% R18.65 Illuminating Paraffin R12.14 Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
