Watch: 2 MINUTES ON…Why your Savings Pot isn’t for every emergencyFinancial stress is a very real dilemma for many South Africans. So much so that some are even turning to gambling to try and relieve it. It’s not surprising then that retirement fund members see access to their Savings Pot in the Two-Pot Retirement System as a source of relief. Watch Blessing Utete, Managing Executive at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, explain why that shouldn’t be the case, and how employers and other stakeholders in the retirement industry can help educate employees on the right way to think about their Savings Pot.VIDEO BY: Old Mutual Corporate | DATE 17 October 2024 | WATCH TIME: 2 MIN

Access to the Savings Pot is one of the most talked about topics when it comes to the Two-Pot Retirement System.

It’s not surprising that retirement fund members have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to access a portion of their savings, as many South Africans are under huge financial stress. 

Old Mutual’s 2024 Savings & Investment Monitor showed that:

  • 88% of respondents had some form of debt

  • A third of those had to take on even more last year

  • 36% are gambling regularly to try and give themselves a financial leg up

Against this backdrop, stakeholders in the retirement fund industry and employers, who will be the ones dealing first-hand with employees who want to access their money, have an important role to play in helping these people make the right decisions.

We need to understand that many employees are under huge financial stress, but we also need to help them understand why accessing their Savings Pot every year to try and deal with that stress is not the right solution.

Take two minutes and watch Old Mutual Corporate Consultants’ Managing Executive, Blessing Utete, explain what consequences regularly accessing one’s retirement savings will have, and how to tackle the root cause that drives people to want access to their savings prematurely.

Need to know more about Two-Pot? Let’s talk.

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