Withdrawal and Transfer of South African Pensions and Retirement Annuities (RA's)

We now have in place a process which provides for the wihdrawal of South African private pensions (including retirement annuities) and their transfer overseas.

The process is a relatively complicated one because of the number of parties involved - including the insurance companies/pension providers, SARS, Reserve Bank and commercial banks. In general terms however, it is currently envisaged that individuals will be able to withdraw up to R4M, and family units R8M, less any amounts withdrawn earlier under these so called "Rand caps".

Amounts in excess of the individual or family rand caps remain blocked and under the control of the authorised dealer (bank etc.,), but applications can be made to export the surplus capital - but this is subject to a 10% exit levy in addition to any tax applicable to the withdrawal falling within the rand caps.

The first stage of the process involves establishing, on a no commitment basis, exactly how much is available for transfer after South African tax and the fees that would apply for administering the transfer process.

Note that the amounts withdrawn may be transferred to any offshore destination, on a worldwide basis, and do not have to be contributed to a pension scheme. However, in a number of countries, such as Australia, that may be tax efficient and you are encouraged to seek professional tax advice where appropriate.

If you are considering the transfer withdrawal of your South pension or retirement annuity please provide your details in the contact form below and we will contact you with further details regarding the process.

Complete the Inquiry form