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It’s not easy to put money away when you’re just about scraping by, and counting the hours as you near payday each month.

Don’t ever knock the simple joys of some MAGGI Two-Minute noodles – we’ve all been there.

That being said, at some stage, the aim is to stop working and put the well-worn feet up, although as a country, we’re not doing particularly well on that front.

In a recent presentation, the Institute of Retirement Funds Africa showed just how few South Africans are adequately prepared, citing the fact that two-thirds of members have less than R50 000 in their funds.

Via BusinessTech, those findings correlate with other studies on the matter, some of which are summarised below:

The 10X South African Retirement Reality Report 2020 found that nearly half (49%) of South Africans do not have a retirement plan. Of the respondents who said they had some sort of retirement plan, 75% were worried about whether they will have enough to live on after they retire, or feel unsure about this…

The Sanlam Benchmark Survey for 2020 showed that 61% of pensioners can’t make ends meet…

Alexander Forbes Member Watch analysis for 2019 showed 50% of members are expected to retire with less than a 20% replacement ratio (recommended is upwards of 70%)…

Working out how much money you need to retire ‘comfortably’ can be done via a few ‘rule of thumb’ calculations, although it’s not the sort of thing you want to leave to chance.

There’s a reason those in the know trust management companies like Consequence Private Wealth to handle their financial affairs, rather than working things out on the back of a napkin.

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) has also sounded the retirement savings alarm, noting a “very bad savings culture” in the country, with as few as 10% of people putting away sufficient cash.

Ultimately, even if you’re only able to stash away a nominal amount at present, it’s advisable to do as it creates a culture of saving that will serve you well going forward.

As the team at Consequence will tell you, “the consequences of decisions made today will bear fruit over the years based on the sound principles applied at their inception.”

[source:bustech]