Question:
My husband and I have our pensions in South Africa. We lived in SA for 21 years and are British Citizens. We now live in the UK since 2004. I also have a retirement annuity. Do we need to act on getting our pensions out before 1st March 2016? Is the law changing then? Would appreciate your advice. Thanks
Answer:
Vivienne, The new laws that come into effect on 1 March 2016 do not affect your retirement annuity investment, except that the annuitisation threshold will increase from R75 000 to R247 500. If you leave retirement annuity to mature in SA, and the value is above R247 500, you will be compelled to buy an annuity in South Africa with at least two-thirds of the proceeds. To access the money as a lump sum, you would have to go through the financial emigration process with SARS/SARB before then. For a more detailed explanation, see our publication on the impact of retirement reform coming into effect on 1 March 2016.
