According to the latest report from the Pension Fund Adjudicator, there are currently about 14900 unresolved cases (complaints) that they are still dealing with and this is on top of the 8275 cases that they have resolved this year. The Financial Services Board is also struggling with a significant backlog in their case loads and are unable to meet their own turnaround times (especially in the Section 14 transfer department). What is clear...

I recently had a most disturbing (if not revealing) conversation with a board member of ASISA (the association for savings and investments in South Africa). But before I proceed, a bit of background and history on ASISA. The following is taken directly from the ASISA website www.asisa.co.za. (If you already know all of this then scroll down to “At the beginning of July…”) ASISA was formed in 2008 by members of the Association of...

This just in from FNB online banking! It seems there is no end to the lengths that some will go to part you from your money! The ethics behind this are questionable at best… LOTTO We are pleased to introduce the ability to play the LOTTO via Online Banking, providing you with a convenient and secure way of purchasing your LOTTO tickets online. Winnings are paid into the account which you used to purchase the ticket automatically....

There is an old song where the lyrics went something like this “the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, but still they come!” At least the odds were better than the chance of you winning the lotto in SA where your odds are one in 13 983 816 (or 0.000000072%)*. Let’s put this in perspective: if there are 2 draws per week (104 per year) then you would need to play the lotto every draw for 134459 years to have...

Results from the American Demographics poll showed that retirement is more difficult than becoming a parent or than getting married*. Those that felt retirement was the most difficult adjustment said that they struggle with the monotony, boredom, lack of purpose and lack of intellectual stimulation that traditional retirement offers. So if this is the case, why is there still such a one-dimensional approach to retirement from the financial...