Hollard Retirement Annuity Plan

The Hollard Retirement Annuity Plan provides a tax-efficient way to save for retirement. It can be taken as an alternative or in addition to your employer pension or provident fund. 

You may contribute via both lump sum investments and recurring debit orders. You can invest a once-off contribution at any time and may start, stop, or amend a monthly debit order investment at any time. You may also invest the following retirement fund benefits into the product, subject to the product rules and relevant legislation: 

• A pension or provident fund benefit, which is transferred in the event of your resignation, retrenchment, or dismissal from an employer. 
• A retirement annuity fund benefit is transferred from another retirement annuity fund. 
• A pension or provident fund benefit from a pension or provident fund, which has been wound up. 
• A benefit received as part of a divorce settlement via an approved court order, which the recipient can elect to invest into the Hollard Retirement Annuity Plan. 

You can choose from a range of Investment Portfolio options. You may select any one or a combination of them and may switch between portfolios at your discretion. It is important for you to monitor and review your investment portfolio selection so that it continues to meet your financial needs.

To protect a member’s retirement benefit, the Pension Funds Act contains guidelines that regulate the extent to which a member may invest in certain asset classes. Hollard is required to ensure that your investment complies with these asset exposure limits, which broadly speaking are as follows: 

• 75% exposure to equities. 
• 50% exposure to non-government debt instruments. 
• 45% exposure to offshore assets.
• 25% exposure to property. 

Each Investment Portfolio offered to investors in the Hollard Retirement Annuity Plan complies with the Regulation 28 limits.  

Yes, additional contributions can be added to the investment at any time via Lump sum or debit order. Your debit order can start, stop, or be amended at any time. 

You are only entitled to withdraw your full benefit prior to retirement in the following instances, subject to legislative requirements and the Rules: 
 

• When you emigrate from South Africa if you can prove you have been a non-resident for tax purposes for an uninterrupted period of three years. 
• The value of your Retirement Annuity Plan is less than the current legislated minimum amount of R15 000, as amended from time to time. 

• Contributions: Contributions made to a retirement annuity fund are tax-deductible up to a legislated maximum and must be declared on your tax return. 
• Payments: Income tax will be deducted from any benefit taken in cash before it is paid out on retirement or death, per Income tax legislation. Hollard will apply for a tax directive to facilitate this process. 
• Investment returns are not subject to Capital Gains Tax, Interest Income tax or Dividend taxes.

You may request to retire from the Fund once you have reached the age of 55. You may request an early retirement in the event of permanent disability due to ill-health. Early retirement requests are granted at the sole discretion of the Trustees of the Fund. 

You can withdraw a maximum of one third of your retirement benefit in cash. Tax will be deducted from the withdrawal benefit before it is paid out according to a tax directive issued by SARS. The portion of the benefit, which is not cashed out, at a minimum of two thirds of the benefit value, must be used to purchase a compulsory annuity from a registered long-term insurer. If the retirement benefit on the date of retirement is R247 500 or less, then you may withdraw the entire benefit in cash. 

It’s not required but we highly recommend that you appoint a financial advisor to assist you. Hollard Investments in their capacity as the Administrator don’t provide financial advice and may only supply factual or administrative information relating to the investment products and portfolios. 

Hollard Investments will allocate any benefit due to the nominated beneficiaries as specified in the policy. Should there be no beneficiaries on record, any benefit will be paid to the deceased estate of the investor. The benefit due on the death of the investor is the value of the investment at the time of processing the death claim, less any fees and charges. Each beneficiary who has been awarded a portion of the death benefit will be provided with the benefit in one of the following ways: 

• The purchase of a compulsory annuity from Hollard Life or another registered long-term insurer.
• A cash lump sum pay-out. 
• A combination of compulsory annuity purchase and a cash payout.
• The purchase of an accelerated annuity is to be paid over a minimum term of 5 years. For minors, the minimum term will be the greater of 5 years or the number of years to the age of 18. Any benefits taken in cash will be subject to income tax.

Hollard Investments, in their capacity as the administrator and the manager, doesn’t provide financial advice and may only supply factual or administrative information relating to the investment products and portfolios.