R57 billion taken from two-pot

Most claims are going towards debt and education.

- Aarti Bhana

Withdrawals from the two-pot retirement system which came into effect in September 2024 amounted to R57 billion by June this year, a report by financial services group Liberty has shown.

This was an accumulation of four million withdrawals from members, while around R15 billion in taxes was collected by the South African Revenue Service over the period.

The two-pot retirement system was created to let members access part of their savings before retirement.

Before 1 September 2024, the only way a person could dip into their retirement annuity fund was if they lost their job, got divorced or retired. After the change, investors are able to draw up to R30 000 from their retirement savings, although they will incur taxes.

In essence, contributions to retirement annuity funds are now divided into two “pots”, one containing a third of the savings, which can be drawn before retirement, and a second preserving two-thirds which can only be tapped into after.