What Is A Good Retirement, And How Will I Know If I'll Get There?

It is imperative that retirement funds communicate with their clients in a clear, jargon-free way and explain what a client can do if their investment shrinks or is not growing at the desired rate.

- Shaun Levitan And Costa Economou

Albert Einstein once remarked to Werner Heisenberg: “In the West we’ve built a beautiful ship, and in it we have all the comforts. But actually the one thing it doesn’t have is a compass, and that’s why it doesn’t know where it’s going.”

Today we have a retirement industry that prides itself on innovation. It is possible for members to view their accumulated retirement savings in real time, construct their own portfolios and switch into any investment portfolio at a moment’s notice!

But ask a member whether the R500 000 in accumulated fund credit is sufficient for their retirement and the chances are that they will not know. Our beautiful retirement ship has prioritised its attention to accumulating a “pot of money” but has lost focus on whether this pot will actually be enough.