By Nicola Mawson
The pending implementation of the Two-Pot retirement scheme does not mean that those who wish to withdraw savings can use that method to hide money from a soon-to-be-ex spouse or get out of maintenance obligations in terms of minor children.
The new retirement regime comes into effect from September 1. As Old Mutual explains on its website, the Two-Pot retirement system enables investors to access a small portion of retirement savings before they retire for emergencies. The bulk of the savings will remain preserved, meaning most of the money will remain invested.
The introduction of this system is as Ann Leepile, CEO of Alexforbes Investments, explained during a recent media briefing, still confusing and there are aspects that still need to be ironed out. There has been a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding when it comes to Two Pot, she said.
Leepile added that theres a lot of misunderstanding around how much money members can access, tax implications of accessing the savings, minimum withdrawal amounts, whether there are any maximum withdrawal amounts, and what is deemed seed capital in your savings part.
