How prepared are you for your retirement? Get powerful insights from Old Mutual’s Retirement Solutions Masterclass - TopCo Media

*Missed the live Masterclass? You can now watch it on demand ​here

Brought to you by Topco Media, in collaboration with Old Mutual, this latest Masterclass provides valuable insights on ‘The Power of Advice in Retirement for a GEPF Member’. The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) remains Africa’s largest pension fund to date. With multiple benefits included, many individuals still fear rising inflation and outliving their retirement capital.

Are you anxious about your retirement? 75% of South Africans are worried that they won’t be financially stable after retirement. While 50% of South Africans don’t have a retirement plan, 61% of pensioners can’t make ends meet.

This Masterclass offers advice on your retirement plan as a Government Employee Provident Fund member, helping you understand your GEPF benefits, discover practical ways to achieve your financial goals, and learn more about life and disability plans as well as wills and estate planning. You will also find out more about getting retirement ready, Life and Disability cover, and Wills and Estate Planning.

Guided by an esteemed all-women panel, the discussion was led by Lizl Budhram, Head of Advice for Old Mutual Personal Finance, Maya Fisher-French who is a South African personal financial journalist, and Busi Selesho – Internationally Accredited Money Coach.

Key takeaways from this Masterclass include: 

• You need to be thinking 20 years ahead. When it comes to your retirement plans, you need a well thought out game plan as ensuring longevity is essential – the average longevity of a GEPF member is 82 years of age.
• It is important for South Africans to take their annuities more seriously. Many believe that the end of ‘work’ is the end of the world when, in fact, it’s only just the beginning of their lives. This is why appropriate financial planning needs to be put in place ahead of time to safeguard your future and livelihood.
• Being able to plan under your GEPF Programme allows you to choose what is best suited to your needs, with multiple benefits. The GEPF focuses on your years of service rather than charging exorbitant fees, and is not linked to market returns, but rather salary and commitment to the plan.
• Make your retirement plans in accordance with your lifestyle – think about all the factors holistically (healthcare, travel, starting a business, plans to study etc.) to make sure you’ll be able to live your final years to the fullest.
• During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people needed to access their pension funds as the cost of living, needs and family responsibilities increased. This led to many people resigning to receive their lump sum payment. This is ill-advised as it becomes detrimental to one’s financial future and retirement benefits.
• Using one’s lump sum to settle some debt may seem reasonable, but what happens to the left overs? You should make sure to put that money into a Preservation Fund for when you retire, as this way your money will grow over time.
• When it comes to retirement solutions, the fear of not having enough is the most common reason for financial self-sabotage. We are not in debt because we don’t have the money. We are actually in debt because we are in fear and have bad spending habits. We need to break this cycle and change our financial behaviours.
• The GEPF comes with many benefits, such as the spousal benefit (ensuring that your spouse is guaranteed a pay out whether you pass away during retirement or beforehand), and the Lifetime Benefit which makes sure any life partner or documented beneficiaries (such as a minor) are taken care of.
• If ever in doubt or need assistance, it may be a good idea to get a credible Financial Advisor involved who is technically skilled to help you make informed decisions, and is capable of mediating the important financial discussions that need to be had before and during the process of setting up your retirement plan.
• One should make sure to get all the necessary paperwork from one’s employer/HR Department at least 6 months before retirement to make sure all the years of employment and service has been properly recorded. Always make sure all your documents are in order.

As the Head of Advice at Old Mutual Personal Finance, Lizl Budhram is tasked with the development of advice strategy, processes and enablers. She also contributes to instilling a Market Conduct/TCF culture as well as FAIS license enablement and maintenance of financial advisers. Lizl currently acts as an examiner and part time lecturer on the Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning qualification at two universities. She also serves as non-executive director on the Board of the Financial Services Exchange (Astute). Her qualifications include LLB and MBA degrees as well as an Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning. In 2020 she qualified as a Certified Integral Coach.

Maya Fisher-French is a well-known South African personal financial journalist and multiple winner of the prestigious Sanlam Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism for the category of Consumer Financial Education. She currently has a show on eNCA entitled ‘Money Matters’ and is editor of ‘My Money My Lifestyle’, the personal finance section of national Sunday newspaper City Press. She has her own website mayaonmoney.co.za and recently released her book ‘Money Questions? Answered!’ Prior to becoming a financial journalist in 2003, Maya worked in the financial industry for a private bank and a stock broking company. Maya has a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Busi Selesho was listed as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Young South Africans in 2017 by Avance Media. She is an Award Winning Author of a Best-Selling book called ‘Money and Black People: Why black people don’t have money, and how to heal your money story’. Busi is an Energy Healer, Internationally Accredited Money Coach and Speaker, empowering individuals to have purposeful lives, great finances and fulfilling careers. She teaches her clients how to love what they do, grow in their work, and earn what they are worth. She runs a coaching firm called ODEL Coaching that helps businesses and organisations take care of their most valuable asset, their people, through Executive Coaching, Emotional Intelligence Coaching, Career Coaching, Financial Wellness and Emotional Wellness.