IOL
MONEY MARCH 2022
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
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CONTENTS FEATURES Understand the employee benefits your company offers you
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Two-pot pension system ‘will boost people’s retirement savings’
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Covid-19’s impact on the employer-employee relationship
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When companies fold or merge, what happens to your retirement savings?
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REGULARS You, your employer and your retirement fund
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Fact File: Inflation and interest rates
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Planning Perspectives with Palesa Tlholoe Important contacts and links
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FROM THE EDITOR
Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients. – RICHARD BRANSON
founder of The Virgin Group
CONTACT US PUBLISHER Vasantha Angamuthu vasantha@africannewsagency.com MONEY EDITOR Martin Hesse martin.hesse@inl.co.za DESIGN Mallory Munien mallory.munien@inl.co.za PRODUCTION Renata Ford renata.ford@inl.co.za BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Keshni Odayan keshni.odayan@inl.co.za SALES Charl Reineke charl.reineke@inl.co.za INQUIRIES hello@africannewsagency.com
UNLIKE in some countries, South Africa has always had a very strong employee benefits culture: the employer you work for does not just pay you a salary; it provides and contributes to a number of other benefits, probably the most important of which is your retirement savings. This harks back to the era when employees often remained with a company for their entire working life, starting off perhaps at a junior level and working their way up through the company. On retirement day the employee would be the subject of a grand send-off party, be presented with a gold watch for the many years dedicated to the company, and walk into the sunset to retire comfortably, having built up a sufficient nest egg over all those years. There were also generous tax breaks for employers who contributed to their employees’ retirement savings. In this way, the government could limit the number of people having to rely on social grants in their old age. The world of employment has changed quite radically: the workforce is far more mobile, and younger people are more likely to chop and change jobs and employers. Sadly, many people cash in their retirement savings when they change jobs, and this has led to a retirement funding crisis that the government is attempting to rectify through legislation and tax concessions. What is also needed is greater emphasis on financial education, and this is where publications like IOL MONEY can play a role. If people had a better understanding of the full benefits of preserving their retirement savings, perhaps they would forsake any short-term gains for the security and freedom that comes with building wealth over the long term.
Martin Hesse
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UNDERSTAND THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS YOUR COMPANY OFFERS YOU Your employee benefits package provided by your employer can provide a range of products and services, which can safeguard both your financial, physical and emotional well-being. However, not all benefits packages are equal. By BELINDA SULLIVAN YOUR employee benefits package provided by your employer can provide a range of products and services, which can safeguard both your financial, physical and emotional well-being. However, not all benefits packages are equal. Your benefits package provides holistic financial and health support for you and your entire family. It’s not limited only to the workplace. Typically, an employer makes available employee benefits which include a retirement fund, insured group risk and healthcare benefits, with additional advice and assistance within the workplace to balance your short-term needs and long-term objectives. The benefits for employers providing such benefits is that employees can be pooled to provide better terms and conditions and to reduce costs to individuals
in securing these benefits. This is due to economies of scale as part of the overall group. According to the Mercer Covid-19 Employee Health and Benefits Pulse Survey, which collected perspectives from African companies on the impact of the pandemic on employee health and benefit policies, 64% of those surveyed anticipated significant changes to these strategies as a result, and 50% of companies indicated they planned to implement budget changes for health and wellness benefits. Your employer will personalise the benefit package offered based on an array of benefits, selecting the benefits they believe will meet the needs of their employees. It is important to understand the benefit offering to use the benefits, as some may even be optional. Set out below are some benefits that your employer may offer and
what they mean to you and your family: MEDICAL AID Having access to quality healthcare is something that no person should take for granted. Your group benefit package could include a range of healthcare options, from which you could select an affordable option tailored to your and your family’s requirements. Advice is important to meet your needs adequately. You need to review the options every year. MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT Modern life is stressful, and statistics by the World Health Organisation show that mental and social disorders are rising rapidly. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic, which has
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seen a significant rise in anxiety, depression and even suicide. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group has noted a 47.75% increase in calls since 2020 for the first nine months of 2021. Most employers offer employee assistance programmes which support employees’ emotional, financial and physical well-being, giving them access to confidential counselling and other support. MEDICAL GAP COVER With increasing medical costs above medical aid rates, this insurance provides for the difference between what your medical aid pays and the rates charged by medical specialists for in-hospital procedures. This can help to ensure that you are not left with a large excess amount to settle. Gap providers offer discounted contributions for groups, which is based on the group’s risk profile and participation policy, which could be compulsory or voluntary. RETIREMENT FUND (PENSION OR PROVIDENT FUND) A retirement fund aims to provide employees with an income in retirement based on
their accumulated savings. This retirement income replaces all or part of the money they were earning before retirement. The income they earn in retirement depends on how much money is saved to retirement. Tax exemptions offered encourage employees to save through the retirement fund. Where an employer has a retirement fund in place, all employees are obligated by law to belong to the retirement fund as a condition of service. Retirement funds also offer you access to default retail solutions in retirement which may be priced at group rates. GROUP RISK BENEFITS Your group risk benefits, such as life and disability cover, are generally priced at institutional rates. This means you benefit from lower fees due to group economies of scale. You would not necessarily have access to this pricing without going for a medical if you tried to source this in your individual capacity. LIFE COVER FOR YOUR SPOUSE In addition to life cover that pays out if you die, you may be able
to cover your spouse under the same policy. This means that if something should happen to either breadwinner, your family is protected. EDUCATION BENEFIT This benefit covers the education and living costs of your minor children should you pass away before retirement age. This is a crucial complementary product to normal life cover, as it ensures your children’s future. FINANCIAL ADVICE The financial advice you receive will always be tailored to your and your family’s particular needs and circumstances. Education and advice will help you to become financially savvy and have higher levels of financial courage to improve your financial situation. This will further promote both your financial and physical wellbeing. It is therefore worth taking the time to fully understand the benefits your employer offers, and make full use of them. Belinda Sullivan is head of corporate consulting strategy at Alexander Forbes.
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TWO-POT PENSION SYSTEM 'WILL BOOST PEOPLE’S RETIREMENT SAVINGS' Having submitted its reaction to National Treasury on the latter’s proposed two-pot pension savings proposal, the financial services industry was given little further clarity on the issue in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget last month save that it was under consideration.
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LAST year, partly as a result of South Africans suffering financially during the economic downturn brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, National Treasury proposed changing the current retirement savings system to a “two-pot” system, to allow people to access up to a third of their retirement funds in an emergency The proposal, where you would be able to access contributions from one pot, with contributions to the other pot not accessible until your retirement, is part of government’s broader retirement reforms aimed at encouraging employees to adequately save for retirement. “If the two-pot system is implemented properly, it will provide a feasible and accountable solution to address the immediate needs of many retirement fund members,” says Gontse Tsatsi, head of retail client management at Old Mutual Investment Group. However, he warns that the system should now be seen as a silver bullet for emergency savings. “Investors must continue to invest for a rainy day which could occur in the short or medium-term, independent of their retirement savings. They should not use their retirement savings as a form of emergency savings. Saving for emergencies is as critical to a financial plan as investing and planning for future financial goals,” says Tsatsi, adding that the key to reaching your long-term financial goals is
to ensure that the occasional crisis does not derail your plans. According to the annual 2021 Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor, 34% of South Africans do not have enough savings to last more than a month were they to lose their income or jobs, while 37% said building up an emergency savings pot was a key priority. 'PRACTICABLE AND RESPONSIBLE’ When the two-pot system was first proposed last year, Vickie Lange, Head: Research, Best Practice and Academy, Alexander Forbes, and John Anderson, Executive: Investments, Products and Enablement, at Alexander Forbes voiced their support for it, with modelling to back it up. “Alexander Forbes is in support of the ’two-pot’ system, as it will make a positive impact on people’s lives by providing a practicable and responsible solution to the real needs faced by members. The lack of preservation is the critical driver of poor financial outcomes at retirement,” Lange and Anderson said. According to the Alexander Forbes Member Insights for 2021, only 9% of members preserve their retirement savings when changing jobs. This in turn leads to very poor retirement outcomes as the average replacement ratio is only 31%. This means that for every R1,000 earned by a member before retirement they will
only replace R310 of income in their retirement. “For this reason, the proposed reforms are necessary to ensure balancing members long-term retirement savings goals and to meet short-term financial needs,” Lange and Anderson said. They said their modelling demonstrated that the two-pot system will result in a new member accumulating more than double their fund value at retirement, as compared to the current system, while providing access to a portion of their savings annually. “We anticipate that the proposed two-pot system will place further emphasis on the need for retirement funds to better connect with members to provide information, education and advice at critical stages in their lives to optimise both their short- and long-term financial outcomes. “The additional complexities of administering the system including the provision of modernised member engagement services to enable such connections requires substantial scale from retirement fund administrators to ensure that members receive value for money. “Ultimately, the “system provides the opportunity for employers and funds to re-imagine their benefits and investment strategies to impact people’s lives by finding a meaningful balance between short and long-term needs,” Lange and Anderson said. | Supplied
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YOU, YOUR EMPLOYER AND YOUR RETIREMENT FUND IF YOU are a salaried employee, you are probably contributing to an employer-linked retirement (pension or provident) fund. The fund may specifically serve your organisation or it may be an umbrella fund operated by a financial services company, which houses many employers under one “umbrella”. There are essentially three parties involved: you, your employer and the retirement fund. (A fourth party, in the form of an administration company, appointed by the retirement fund, takes care of the day-to-day administration of the fund.) Your employer deducts your contribution from your remuneration and pays it over to the fund. Most of the money goes towards your retirement savings, which builds up over your years with the company. A small portion (10% or so) goes towards an
of your salary until retirement age (you can check with your HR department exactly what your fund offers). Finally, the fund takes an administration fee, which may be in the region of 2.5%.
MONEY BASICS
with MARTIN HESSE
insurance premium that covers you for death or disability, known as group risk cover. While the premium is quite low compared with private life cover, the benefit can be substantial: the life benefit would be a lump sum of three or four times your annual salary, and the disability benefit would typically pay you 70-75%
For the system to work properly, each party has certain obligations: 1. You as a fund member need to ensure that your contributions are being deducted and are going to the fund. You need to ensure that the group risk cover is in place and to monitor your savings balance in the fund. 2. Your employer must ensure that the full contribution amount is paid over each month to the fund. If the fund doesn’t receive the money, not only will it affect your retirement savings, but importantly, it will affect your group risk cover. If the insurer providing the cover
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does not receive the premiums, you lose your cover, just as you would on a personal insurance policy. This means that if you died in service, or if you were permanently disabled and no longer able to earn an income, your family will not be looked after adequately. They might receive your accumulated pension or provident fund savings but they will not receive an insurance payout. 3. The retirement fund (and the administration company) must ensure that the contributions are received from the employer and the money is allocated correctly. It is also obliged to communicate regularly with you on the state of your savings and your risk cover. What goes wrong The most common thing to go wrong along the chain is that the employer deducts the amount from your salary, but owing either to pure negligence or to a cash-flow
problem, does not forward the money to the retirement fund. As an employee, you wouldn’t immediately know this, because you would still see the deduction on your salary slip each month. It’s only if you received a statement from the fund itself, and studied it closely, that you would realise something was wrong. In instances where employers fall into arrears in paying over their employees’ contributions, funds are required to take steps to get the money and to report the employer to the Registrar of Pension Funds and, ultimately, to the AttorneyGeneral. The fund is also obliged to report the non-payment of contributions to the affected members. Unfortunately, the non-payment of contributions to retirement funds is all too common in South Africa. The Pension Funds Adjudicator, Muvhango Lukhaimane, who deals
with these cases all the time, told IOL MONEY: “The situation is endemic and municipalities are the worst – we currently have cases all over the place. The death benefits issue has been coming on for a while because once the contributions are not made, then the cover falls away. It is not only municipalities though – you have employers in the metal and engineering sector, in the transport sector, and some of the state owned entities. “Unfortunately the employees continue to see a deduction on their salaries and are mostly unaware that no payments are being made to the fund, which in turn cannot pay the insurer in instances where the benefit is underwritten. However, even where the fund self-insures, they fail to tell members that if contributions are not up to date, certain benefits will not be paid, mainly death benefits.”
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COVID-19’S IMPACT ON THE EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP The pandemic has wrought profound changes in how employees work and how they are remunerated, write DR MARK BUSSIN and YOLANDA SEDLMAIER
BEFORE Covid-19 hit the world, the approach to reward was well defined. Organisations paid their employees a fixed basic salary plus a set of additional benefits that effectively sweetened the pot. The fixed portion served to ensure workers received an equitable market-related income. The variable portion, on the other hand, extended into performancerelated rewards such as sales commissions, annual bonuses and share plans. Variable pay itself is categorised into two components. Short-term incentives are attached to annual performance. Long-term incentives, like company shares, are often contingent on employees and companies meeting negotiated performance criteria. At the same time, employers were embracing experiential rewards, like wellness programmes, workplace comfort, flexitime, outstanding performance
recognition and other non-financial benefits. The pandemic has turned this model on its head, forcing employers to consider different ways to attract, retain and motivate talented workers, and this without the resources previously at their disposal due to the wide ranging economic impact of the pandemic. HOW FIXED PAY HAS CHANGED With many staff being retrenched and businesses closing down over the past two years, employees were more willing to accept the pay cuts their employers were forced to implement. It is obviously better to have less income than no income at all. What has changed is that employers are offering more options. These could include flexible working hours, paid or unpaid sabbaticals, or reduced hours for reduced pay.
Working from anywhere has challenged the way we set fixed pay, and some companies have decided to pay according to the cost of living index in the area that you live in and work from. This has created interesting tax challenges. For example, if I have moved to the Maldives and “work” remotely in 10 different countries, how will I be taxed. Something we are seeing, however, is a global trend towards lower variable pay in exchange for a small increase in monthly fixed pay. This is to provide the security employees need in the short term, and the adoption has started to happen in South Africa. HOW VARIABLE PAY HAS CHANGED Variable pay is generally accepted to be that part of the reward package more readily tweaked to motivate employees and encourage better performance from them.
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Now, with almost all employers struggling to save jobs and keep their doors open, they face limited options. Most have managed to retain basic benefits, like medical aid and retirement funding. What has been more affected is incentives, such as sales commissions, overtime, annual bonuses, and even executive performance bonuses. With the global business slowdown, workers are unable to reach previously achievable targets, so employers aren’t earning the profits needed to reward them. To date, most organisations have made some progress to innovate reward programmes, but we are still some way off where we need to be to accommodate the new way of working. They’ve been too busy trying to cut costs and negotiating with employees to choose between retrenchments or pay cuts.
PRODUCTIVITY In spite of these dramatic events, many companies report an increase in productivity. This is due to flexible working arrangements allowing employees to save time and money not travelling to the office. It’s also an indicator that employees who are allowed to schedule their own time will do so responsibly. They can start working immediately and will often put in additional hours to make up for time spent on personal tasks. These might include caring for children, home schooling and homecare duties, or transporting them to school and back. Stay-at-home employees also insist they are working longer and harder than ever before. This has created mental health issues on a grand scale, which needs to be addressed by employers.
TWO MAIN TRENDS In terms of their workforce, employers are focusing on two main concerns. The first is a complete review of their HR policies in relation to dealing effectively with and setting pay for workers who are not located on premises. These new policies are no longer founded on inputs and time spent at the place of business. Instead, they consider the outputs, outcomes and impact of these workers, and how to prepare managers to lead them remotely. The second is that we’re witnessing a major shift towards protecting employees’ mental health and well-being. This will doubtless become a key element of every organisation’s reward strategy. Dr Mark Bussin is a Master Reward Specialist and Yolanda Sedlmaier is a Chartered Reward Specialist, and are both executive committee members of the South African Reward Association.
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WHEN COMPANIES FOLD OR MERGE, WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR RETIREMENT SAVINGS? The money you have built up in a retirement fund is protected by law your company cannot touch your savings. If there is a restructuring or merger, you may be required to transfer to a new fund WHAT happens to your retirement savings if, as may have happened during the pandemic, your company gets into difficulties and either goes into liquidation or is bought out by another company? THE LAW PROTECTS EMPLOYEES Nashalin Portrag, head of the FundsAtWork Umbrella Funds, explains that when a merger or acquisition takes place, or a company restructures, there are implications for the group benefits that form part of your employment contract. “That is why there are clear legislative processes that must be followed with regard to employee benefits during a merger or acquisition. Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act facilitates the business transfer,
protects employees from being treated unfairly and protects their employment, which includes their employer-provided retirement and insurance benefits,” says Portrag. “The Act determines that the new employer employs transferred employees on terms and conditions that may not, on the whole, be less favourable than those they had with the old employer.” NEW EMPLOYER DECIDES ON FUND Portrag says new employers may allow employees to keep contributing to their existing pension or provident fund or decide that they have to belong to a new provident, pension or similar fund. Transferring employees to a new fund must comply with Section 14 of the
Pension Funds Act, which ensures that the transfer of pension benefits is reasonable and fair. It must also comply with the rules of the funds. Portrag cautions: “It is important to understand that you are not entitled to your withdrawal benefits in such a transfer. If the new employer chooses to participate in same fund as the existing employer, your retirement savings will stay invested in the portfolio you were in before the transfer. If the new employer chooses not to participate in the existing funds, you will be transferred according to Section 14 to the new approved fund chosen by the new employer.” LIQUIDATION If your employer liquidates the company, then you will have access to your retirement fund
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credit, but only after your group scheme has been liquidated from the fund. At this point you have a few options. You can preserve all your retirement savings, which can be done within your existing fund or by moving your fund credit to any other registered preservation or retirement annuity fund. You can also choose to withdraw some retirement savings and preserve the rest until your normal retirement date. When considering the different options, it is particularly important that you talk to a qualified financial adviser, especially to understand how tax will affect you. YOUR GROUP RISK COVER MAY CHANGE Group benefits, including insurance benefits, are structured according to certain business needs, says
Portrag. “These could include the industry the business is part of; the geographical area of the business; prevalence of certain disease or disability trends where the business operates; and occupations of the employees. If a business undergoes fundamental restructuring, such as downscaling or changing its core structure or operating model, the business may revise its group benefit structures to balance benefit levels and value with cost.” Portrag says that when your employer adjusts the business’s group insurance benefits to lower levels, you might find yourself in a situation where your group cover is no longer sufficient for what your family will need if you were to pass away or become disabled. “That is why some leading employee benefits providers offer solutions that allow you to flex
up your group insurance cover according to your individual circumstances,” says Portrag. He emphasises that it is important to review your cover at least once a year to make sure it meets your and your family’s needs. Portrag adds that sadly, however, where employees lose their jobs as a result of business restructures, many also lose the only insurance cover they have under their employer’s group scheme. He points out that many group insurance policies include a conversion option, which gives you the option to convert to an individual insurance policy without medical underwriting when you leave your employer. “Retrenched employees should seriously consider this option if their employer’s group policy offers it,” he says.
FACT FILE
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Budget 2022: Impact on retirement funds In his Budget speech on February 23, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana did not announce any major changes for retirement funds. However, he did mention a few things of note, including the fact that National Treasury’s proposed “two-pot” system for retirement savings was under consideration. Below are Budget items pertaining to retirement funds: ● Retirement fund contributions: The limit for deductible contributions to retirement funds remains at 27.5% of the greater of remuneration or taxable income, to a maximum of R350 000 a year. ● Tax on retirement fund lump-sum withdrawals: Rates remain the same for pre-retirement withdrawals and for withdrawals at retirement, according to the SARS tax tables for lump-sum withdrawals from a pension or provident fund. ● Proposed two-pot system: The Budget speech touched on the government's proposed two-pot system for retirement savings, saying more work needed to be done. Michelle Acton, key account manager at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, says the fact that the Minister has given the green light to the restructuring of the retirement system for individuals to allow for greater preservation and
partial access to funds via the two-pot system is welcome. “More detail is required in terms of understanding the parameters that would allow for early access. This will need to be provided in the draft legislation that will be published for comment towards the middle of the year,” she says. ● Increase in limits for offshore investment and infrastructure: Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act stipulates the proportion of retirement fund investments that can be invested in the various asset classes and in offshore investments. A change welcomed by the investment industry was the “harmonisation” of offshore investment limits across investment products. Andrew Davison, head of advice at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, says: “One of the unexpected but welcome changes in the Budget was the announcement that the offshore limit for all insurance, retirement and savings funds will be harmonised at 45%, inclusive of the 10% African
allowance. This implies that the current Regulation 28 offshore limit of 30% will increase to 35% with a further 10% in Africa outside South Africa. This will provide greater flexibility for retirement funds to access a wider set of opportunities for growth as well as diversification. “The Minister also provided an update on the changes to Regulation 28 to enable greater investment in infrastructure by retirement funds with this expected to be gazetted into law by March.” ● Improving governance of umbrella funds: The Budget Review says work will also continue on seeking to improve the governance of umbrella funds, which house a number of employers under one “umbrella”. National Treasury has proposed that members of a commercial umbrella fund should elect at least half of the members of the board of trustees. At present, this is not a requirement for commercial umbrella funds, though it is for stand-alone occupational funds.
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Planning Perspectives
Financial planning with employee benefits
Palesa Tlholoe
EMPLOYEE group benefits remain an area of mystery, not only for employees, but for human resources personnel. This lack of clarity, coupled with the many compliance regulations, can make it difficult to plan financially using these benefits. They are the only benefits that many South Africans will ever get close to for legacy or wealth creation. Employee benefits, such as retirement savings, aren’t used the way they were intended because of this same lack of understanding. This perpetuates the narrative that a mere 6% of South Africans retire comfortably. Understanding these benefits, and factoring them into your personal financial plans can present many opportunities for wealth creation. What are employee benefits? Employee benefits are financial benefits that employers offer their employees and their families. Examples include group life cover, disability cover, severe illness cover, funeral cover, pension or provident fund savings, and education benefits for the employees’ children. These benefits are usually a percentage of each employee’s salary to make it equitable, fair, and affordable for everyone. The advantage of group benefits is the lower administration cost due to the economies of scale (costs are spread over a large number of people). The challenge, on the other hand, is that benefits aren’t personalised to each individual employee’s circumstances. In other words, they may not resolve all your needs. How to get the most value from your benefits ● You need to know your benefits! Ask for your benefit statement after you’ve been added to your employer’s group scheme. ● Consult a professional financial adviser or planner. Show the adviser your group benefit statement so that he or she can analyse your benefits and link them with your current personal financial portfolio as well as your financial needs. This will help you create a clear picture of
what your current financial position is, where the gaps are, and how you can close them. ● Your circumstances may change along the way. Knowing what to do to ensure that your plans remain intact and executable is a critical step. An example would be transferring your pension benefits to a preservation fund, rather than taking a pay-out when you retire or resign. ● Just like any other financial benefits, employer benefits are taxed when paid out. Factor in the tax implications when planning on leaving your current employer. You can avoid paying tax by transferring to a preservation fund or your new employer’s fund when you change jobs. Unfortunately, an exit due to death is out of your control. A professional can help you factor in the taxes so you know what your family will get after taxes have been paid. ● Top-up your life cover in alternative ways (usually through an individual insurance product) if the cover is not enough to fit in with your estate planning. ● Resist the temptation to cash in your funds in for purposes that they weren’t intended for. What commonly happens is that when someone leaves his or her employer after they’ve resigned, group benefits become a casualty, especially if they’re not linked to their long-term plans. Special legislation Your employer benefits are governed by different laws to those of individual plans. Group funds have trustees who are appointed and entrusted to make decisions on your behalf, both in terms of running the scheme and how pay-outs are done. Your financial planner will give you an idea of how trustees work, possible timelines, which are often longer than on individual benefits, and how you can mitigate any inconvenience. With the help of a Certified Financial Planner, your employee benefits can be used effectively to create wealth and leave a meaningful legacy for your loved ones. Palesa Tlholoe, CFP, is Co-Founder and a Wealth Manager at Imvelo Wealth
INFORMATION
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click on the links to visit the website
Here are sources that can help you with financial education, give you more information on savings and investments, and afford you recourse if you have a consumer complaint or a complaint against a financial services provider
FINANCIAL EDUCATION Financial Sector Conduct Authority MyMoney Learning Series https://www.fscamymoney.co.za South African Savings Institute #WaysToSave https://waystosave.co.za/ OMBUDSMAN & REGULATORS Ombudsman for Banking Services ShareCall: 0860 800 900 or phone: 011 712 1800 Email: info@obssa.co.za www.obssa.co.za CONSUMER ISSUES National Consumer Commission Toll-free: 0860 003 600 or phone: 012 428 7000 Email: complaints@thencc.org.za www.thencc.gov.za CONSUMER GOODS AND SERVICES OMBUD ShareCall: 0860 000 272 Email: info@cgso.org.za www.cgso.org.za
FINANCIAL ADVICE Ombud for Financial Services Providers phone: 012 470 9080 or 012 762 5000 Email: info@faisombud.co.za www.faisombud.co.za INVESTMENTS Financial Sector Conduct Authority ShareCall 0800 110 443 or 0800 202 087 info@fsca.co.za www.fsca.co.za LIFE INSURANCE Ombudsman for Long-term Insurance ShareCall 0860 103 236 or phone: 021 657 5000 Email: info@ombud.co.za www.ombud.co.za MEDICAL SCHEMES Council for Medical Schemes MaxiCall: 0861 123 267 Email: complaints@medicalschemes.com or information@medicalschemes.com www.medicalschemes.com
CREDIT OMBUD MaxiCall: 0861 662 837 or phone: 011 781 6431 Email: ombud@creditombud.org.za www.creditombud.org.za
RETIREMENT FUNDS Pension Funds Adjudicator ShareCall: 0860 662 837 or phone: 012 346 1738 Email: enquiries@pfa.org.za www.pfa.org.za
NATIONAL CREDIT REGULATOR ShareCall: 0860 627 627 or phone: 011 554 2600 Email: complaints@ncr.org.za or (debt counselling) dccomplaints@ncr.org.za www.ncr.org.za
SHORT-TERM INSURANCE Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance ShareCall 0860 726 890 or phone: 011 726 8900 Email: info@osti.co.za www.osti.co.za
TAX Tax Ombud ShareCall: 0800 662 837 or phone: 012 431 9105 Email: complaints@taxombud.gov.za www.taxombud.gov.za PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa (FISA) phone: 082 449 2569 Email: secretariat@fisa.net.za www.fisa.net.za Financial Planning Institute of South Africa (FPI) Phone: 011 470 6000 Email: info@fpi.co.za www.fpi.co.za South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT) Phone: 012 941 0400 Email: info@thesait.org.za www.thesait.org.za FINANCIAL DATA ◆For ◆ the latest financial market indicators, go to https://www.iol.co.za/businessreport/market-indicators ◆For ◆ the latest quarterly unit trust performance, go to https://www.iol.co.za/ personal-finance/collective-investments ◆To ◆ look up performance of a particular unit trust fund go to https://www.iol.co.za/ personal-finance/fund-look-up
