Tag: financial wellbeing

We have announced the findings of our inaugural Retirement Insights Survey, the first retirement research of its kind conducted by an integrated financial services provider in South Africa. Against the backdrop of widespread belief that South Africa lacks a savings culture, the survey unveils some reasons for disparities in retirement savings beyond apathy or income.

South Africa commemorates Youth Day on 16 June 2023. With this in mind, we thought it prudent to tackle the importance of establishing good financial habits from an early age. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word habit as “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up”.

Purchasing a home is one of the most significant financial decisions most people make in their lifetime. This requires careful consideration and planning, especially in today's economic climate, where interest rates are skyrocketing, and income is not set in stone.

According to the most recent Marriages and Divorces report released by Stats SA, fewer South Africans are tying the knot – a possible indicator of the cultural move away from the traditional institution of marriage in favour of domestic partnerships.

Despite some changes in recent years, women still have a tendency to leave financial affairs to their husbands. Often, women are far removed from the detail and this could be an obstacle when they need to make financial decisions they have little experience or knowledge of. Divorce or the death of a spouse can turn the best laid financial plans upside down.

Benefits are an important part of attracting and retaining talent for corporates, and these offerings can often be a point of differentiation. As such, many businesses have started to offer Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) to cater to physical, financial and mental health, along with the more common medical aid, pension and provident funds.

Financial stress. Lower productivity. Poorer profitability. It’s a slippery slope that South African employers have to manage. The inaugural 2022 State of Employee Wellbeing Barometer says the impact of financial stress on business profitability is a slippery slope that South African employers have to manage.

During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical claims looked very different to the usual patterns. Now, however, the COVID-19-bubble has burst, and we are beginning to get back to greater levels of normalcy. One thing that COVID-19 highlighted was the need to have adequate healthcare in place.

This year, Black Friday will fall on 26 November. As has been the trend for the last few years, many retailers have already started offering discounts on goods since the beginning of the month. Last year (2020), many South Africans took to social media to lament their dissatisfaction with what many termed 'Black Friday scams'.

South Africa is in the middle of one of the most trying times in the country’s history. Unemployment was on the rise which will only worsen in the aftermath of the current situation. In addition, tensions are boiling over turning into violent acts and destruction which are currently disrupting society. This includes bank ATM’s and branches.