Senior Living MAGAZINE
SHIFTING COMMUNICATIONS in the Age of Corona
HOW TO FREE UP MONEY in Living Annuities
VOL. 4
FREE!
Read & Pass On
DURBAN | SOUTH | HIGHWAY | PIETERMARITZBURG | MIDLANDS
Highway
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PMB/Midlands
Welcome Welcome to another issue of Senior Living Magazine, previously Pensioner’s Friend. Our lives have certainly been turned upside down since the last time we printed our magazine. Prior to this unprecedented season of trepidation and fear of the unknown, Senior Living had launched a fresh new look. Our logo now features a butterfly, representative of all of the positives that come with maturity and experience. Senior Living is all about honouring those who are a little older and highlighting the benefits that come with age! Our exciting brand relaunch was scheduled to be unveiled in our May issues, but COVID happened instead. Our team pivoted quickly by establishing the digital side of the magazine and we are very chuffed with the results. Please head on over to our Facebook page - Senior Living Magazine - and our website, www.seniorlivingmag.co.za. One of the features we are most excited about, is the daily crossword and
sudoku puzzle, both of which are mobile responsive (this means that they are super easy to view on your cell phone). Our online directory which has also just been launched, is a very useful addition to our offerings. The lockdown has resulted in us having to combine our three magazines into one issue, so please look for the adverts that pertain to your particular area (they are marked for the relevant areas that they serve). It also means that some of our usual content (e.g. the poem and Remarkable Senior story) will be saved for a future issue. We do hope you enjoy this combined issue of Senior Living. Do let us know what you love about the mag, and what you’d like to see more of. Email: admin@seniorlivingmag.co.za Facebook: @seniorlivingmagazine
Shifting Communications in the Age of Corona ......................................Pg 4 Discounts & Special Offers ..........................................................................Pg 6 & 7 How to Free Up Money Trapped in Living Annuities ................................Pg 9 & 10 Cooking Corner ............................................................................................Pg 12 Puzzle Corner ................................................................................................Pg 15 Administration, advertising and submissions: Charmain Jansen van Rensburg, admin@seniorlivingmag.co.za, 033 8151031. The views expressed in SENIOR LIVING are not necessarily those of the Editor, Senior Living, or its advertisers. Publication of advertising material does not imply any endorsement in respect of goods or services described therein. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this magazine, SENIOR LIVING cannot accept responsibility for any bona fide errors therein. Copyright of material (including photographs) published in this magazine is vested with SENIOR LIVING and the authors/originators of the material, and may not be reproduced without permission.
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Shifting Communications In the Age of Corona...
Without any warning, COVID-19 rudely arrived on our global doorsteps in 2020, forcing everyone to #staysafe and #stayhome, and face masks became the new “must have” fashion accessory (but this was certainly NOT by choice). South Africa experienced a swift, strict and total lockdown, resulting in friend and family connections being severed, virtually overnight. In retirement homes and villages around South Africa, this was particularly isolating for the senior citizens who were not as tech-savvy as their offspring may have liked them to have been.
friends - many of which live overseas or in other parts of our beautiful country. WhatsApp is one of the most useful apps, as it allows for video calls on your cell phone - but it does use a fair amount of data. Video calls work best on any digital device when both users have enough data or a good Wi-Fi connection. Facebook is one of the most popular forms of social media for senior citizens, and it is extremely useful for staying in touch with any news from family and friends.
“This unprecedented digital technology wave has resulted in smartphone usage being at an all-time high.”
Zoom is a more complex video conferencing app which can also be used if you’re a little more tech savvy. It needs to be installed on your smartphone or laptop, however it does require some IDs and passwords for users to navigate through. The beauty of Zoom, is that it allows multiple users to video call each other simultaneously.
This unprecedented digital technology wave has resulted in smartphone usage being at an all-time high.
Zoom does need to integrate with a Gmail or other email address, and will take some practice in order to master it.
In 2020, most smartphones come equipped with a variety of useful applications (known as ‘apps’) which allow you to stay in touch with family and
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Source: David R. Walker, Digital Skills Trainer, 082 701 1817.
PMB/Midlands
PMB/Midlands
Highway NO ION T IGA ICE L OB E ADV RE &F
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off your vehicle and home insurance premium • No basic excess payable • Extra discount for living in a secure retirement village • Personal service for your insurance
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Bwise Financial Solutions (Pty) Ltd An authorised Financial Service Provicer FSP 43665
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Discounts & Special Offers! Please confirm all discounts beforehand, as they are subject to change, furthermore please advise us if you encounter any changes. Durban South Mondays • Avondale Spar: 5% discount (not on promotions) every Mon/Tue/Wed loyalty card required (bring ID and ID photo) Tuesdays • Spar: 5% discount on all purchases (Mon/Tue/Wed) - loyalty card required • Makro: 5% discount on food products and up to 10% discount on general products - pensioner’s card required Wednesdays • Musgrave Pick n Pay: double Smart Shopper points • Game: 10% discount on the first R1500, excluding cell phones • Clicks: Double e-bucks and double Club Card points for over 60s (see website
Highway Tuesdays • SuperSpar Richden’s Village: 5% discount • Makro: 10% discount on certain non-food items, 5% discount on food, excluding specials • Knowles SuperSpar: 5% discount pensioner’s card required • Pick n Pay Caversham Glen: 5% discount and double points on promotional items - pensioner’s card required Wednesdays • Clicks: Double e-bucks and double Club Card points for over 60s (see website • Builders Express Pinetown: 10% discount on Wednesdays - Builders Express card required • Game: 10% discount on the first R1500, excluding cell phones, airtime or groceries Every Day Bargain Books Hillcrest: 10% discount on Purchases
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If you know of any discounts or other special offers for pensioners and would like them included please contact us directly Email: admin@seniorlivingmag.co.za.
Pietermaritzburg/Midlands Tuesdays • Merrivale SuperSpar: 5% discount on tea and cake when using your Spar card • Makro: 5% discount on food products and up to 10% discount on general products - pensioner’s card required • Parklane SuperSpar: 5% pensioner’s discount on all purchases Wednesdays • Clicks: double e-bucks and double Club Card points for over 60s (see website)
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Game: 10% discount on the first R1500, excluding cell phones, airtime or grocery items
Thursdays • Merrivale SuperSpar: 5% discount on tea and sandwiches when using your Spar card
Visit our growing list of suppliers at www.seniorlivingmag.co.za/directory for even more discounts!
DBN/Highway PMB/Midlands
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DBN
THEMBELA Home for the Aged • No frail care • 48 individual rooms with basin • 20 shared bathrooms Meals, teas, laundry & room cleaning included in rental. Library, hairdresser, nail lady, lovely garden, Bible studies, bingo, church services, lift, dancing, etc. available.
68 Montpelier Place (Cnr 5th Avenue), Morningside Telephone: 031 312 6360 Email: admin@thembelahome.co.za
DBN/Highway PMB/Midlands
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How to Free Up Money Trapped in Living Annuities If you are retired, you will probably have one or more “Living Annuities�. Remember how, after the excitement of your last workday, your advisor gave you the sobering news that you could only take up to one third of your retirement annuities or pension fund as cash? Well, a living annuity is probably where the other two thirds went to. The whole idea of being forced to put at least two thirds into a living annuity is that it stops some people (not YOU of course) from taking all their retirement money and blowing it on a Lamborghini (and starving to death in it afterwards, once it runs out of petrol).
But what if you have a Living Annuity that is really small? An annuity prevents that, by only letting you draw a percentage of the money each year (between 2.5% and 17.5%) as an income. Managed properly, that money will last you a decent amount of time (if not for all the years of your retirement). So far so good.
But what happens if your living annuity is really small? People often wind up accumulating a few living annuities as they approach retirement - from your work savings, or previous jobs, or from personal RAs you may have started/ stopped over the years. Some of those might be so small that even at the maximum withdrawal of 17.5% per year, the income they produce is negligible. But as small as that income might be, the lump sum it’s coming from, could still be in the tens of thousands - enough to renovate a bathroom or go on a nice holiday - if there was some way to access it. And there obviously is, otherwise every retiree would eventually end with up with living annuities containing silly amounts (e.g. R3.50) from which they would still only be drawing a percentage each year! Up until recently, you could withdraw your annuity if it was small enough (less than R50 000 to R70 000, along with some other determining factors). Generous as that might sound, one of my clients could not be paid out for years as her balance kept bobbing around the R 51 000 mark, which was very irritating
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- more so because the bank charges to transfer her monthly income to her overseas, were almost as large as the income itself. So, here is the good news - the Government recently RAISED this cutoff as part of its emergency COVID relief measures. If the balance of your annuity is under R 125 000, you can now access the whole amount as cash. And the change is permanent, so even after the threat of COVID subsides, we’ll be able to access useful lump sums before they evaporate away into meaningless amounts.
help out family members who are feeling the COVID pinch or enjoy a small break to ease the cabin fever of lockdown. Or maybe you’ve recently realised that the hot pink bathroom you were so proud of in the 80s is now driving you slowly mad, and if you don’t redecorate soon, it’s just a matter of time before you snap! So, get hold of your advisor sooner rather than later. Mike Cason is a Liberty Financial Advisor based in Waterfall, Durban, but works with people locally, across the country and abroad. Contact him via michael.cason@liblink.co.za.
Contact your financial advisor to find out what you can unlock from your retirement portfolio. Perhaps you can
PMB/Midlands
Home Care Service A Helping Hand With Your Daily Activities
Pet Care:
• Walking of pets • Grooming of pets • Pet sitting
Personal Care:
• Hair and nail care • Assistance with all daily living activities
House Keeping:
• Catering for small tea parties • Preparation of meals • Weekly shopping • Mending • Gardening Lisa van Huyssteen | Cell: 072 863 7278 Email: vanhuyysteenlisa@gmail.com
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DBN/Highway PMB/Midlands
Planning one’s retirement from the non-financial side. DISCOUNTED PRICE FOR SENIOR LIVING READERS!
R170 (normal price is R190)
To purchase a copy, please contact Barry Smith on 083 287 8339 or besmith@telkomsa.net
PMB/Midlands
PMB/Midlands
PMB/Midlands
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C g in
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Cheese Muffins
By: Chef Lucas “Ngwenya” – Bethany Gardens
Make 2 cups of Five Roses Tea and enjoy with butter mixed with finely chopped chives. DRY INGREDIENTS 1 Cup Cake Flour 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese 2 tsp Baking Powder ½ tsp Paprika ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper ½ tsp Aromat Dash Pepper
WET INGREDIENTS
Step 3: Pour the wet into the dry bowl, mix well – but don’t over mix – let it rest for a minute. Step 4: After resting, spoon into 2 x 12 muffin trays, that have been greased or sprayed with Spray and Cook.
1 Cup of Milk 1 Egg
Step 5: Then into a pre-heated oven at 190ºC for 15 minutes.
Step 1: In a bowl mix, Flour, Cheese, Baking Powder, a good Sprinkle of the spices. This is the dry mix.
To test if ready – use a skewer by inserting into muffin – if it comes out clean they are ready and must also have a good colour.
Step 2: In a measuring jug add the egg and pour in the milk to the one cup mark. This is the wet mix.
Step 6: Tip out onto a cooling rack. Savoury: You can add a bit of finely chopped shoulder bacon and a finely chopped onion to the dry mix.
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PMB/Midlands
Let us care for your loved one in the comfort of their own home Enquiries and consultations are free of charge and strictly confidential.
The more we care, the more beautiful life becomes Mark 082 301 4270 • Lorraine 072 602 7505 Tel: 033 330 4313 Email: info@nightingaleshomecare.co.za www.nightingaleshomecare.co.za
PMB/Midlands
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DBN/Highway
DBN/Highway
ELECTRICAL
30% DISCOUNT
ON LABOUR FEES FOR PENSIONERS! • Electrical & Maintenance • Prepaid Meter Installation • Fault Finding • Certificate of Compliance • Tripping Problems • New Electrical Installations
Ronaldo: 076 370 5751 Please quote ‘Senior Living’ on your enquiry
DBN
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DBN/Highway PMB/Midlands
Puzzle Corner Keep your mind sharp with our sudoku puzzle!
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DBN/Highway PMB/Midlands
Pre-paid Funeral
For seniors over the age of 65, Oakleigh Funeral Home has a unique option where we allow a client to plan and pay in advance for services required.
TION INFLA OF O R -P
! anty Wa r r
• Itemised billing • Monies held in a registered Trust • Funds are accessible 086 111 1380 (24 hour call centre)
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info@oakleigh.co.za
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www.oakleigh.co.za
DBN/Highway PMB/Midlands
