Food for Thought

With the end of the tax year approaching fast, now is a great time to make sure you’re getting every rand of tax benefit available from your retirement savings. If you haven’t used your full annual retirement contribution allowance, you could be leaving valuable tax deductions on the table, and once the tax year closes, any unused benefit is gone for good. How Much Can You Deduct? South African tax legislation lets you claim a tax deduction for contributions to retirement fun

THE REVENUE LAWS AMENDMENT ACT 6 OF 2025 (ACT) has been proclaimed on the 19 December 2025. There are no material changes to any existing laws but the focus in this amendment was to introduce technical and policy clarifications to support the implementation of the two-pot retirement system. The Act introduces the following key changes: Clarification on the timing of the seeding amount calculation for Provident funds, providing certainty to retirement fund members and administ

The Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA) adopted the final version of the King V Code on Corporate Governance on 31 October 2025. This update refines local governance standards and simplifies the code for easier applications, while retaining the core principles of King IV. The King V code on corporate governance 2025, is set to take effect for financial years commencing on or after January 2026, and applies to all governing bodies, including the board of trustees of

Death Benefits – Clarification on Jurisdiction by the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator Section 37C of the Pension Funds Act, 1956 affords the fund a wide discretion to decide on the equitable distribution of a death benefit. In exercising its discretion, the fund is required to inter alia ensure that its decision is supported by a proper investigation of all the relevant facts, all of which must be considered. Where a fund fails to exercise its discretion properly, t

ACTS, REGULATIONS & BILLS COFI BILL UPDATE Currently the focus is on Phase 2 of the COFI Bill transition work which entails the development of a broad set of themed frameworks (Phase1: The initial high-level design of the new framework; Phase 3: focuses on how to transition all instruments under existing sectoral laws to the COFI Bill). FSCA will informally consult on a variety of themed frameworks during the 2025/2026 business year. The FSCA is also in the process of refinin

BACKGROUND   The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is the market conduct regulator of financial institutions in South Africa. The...

Protecting Possibility with Precision At Optimum Insure Consulting, we don’t just provide insurance - we build strategic protection...

THE CONDUCT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS BILL   At a high level, The Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill (known as COFI) is an umbrella...

NATIONAL BUDGET MAY 2025 – FINANCIAL SERVICES & RETIREMENT FUNDS On 21 May 2025 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his revised...

FCSA Communication 6 of 2025: The calculation of late payment interest by pension funds The FSCA issued Communication 15 of 2023 which...

PHEBO obo TWO MINORS v OLD MUTUAL WEALTH RETIREMENT ANNUITY FUND (PFA) The issue for determination before the Pension Funds Adjudicator...

The Finance Minister Mr. Enoch Godongwana delivered the Budget Speech on the 12 March 2025. Below are some of the important tax...