Is RETIREMENT OBSOLETE? And, if so, WHAT CAN YOU DO INSTEAD?

Every now and then, a new study comes out proclaiming that South Africa has a retirement savings emergency, a ‘pension time bomb’, a ‘looming national wake-up call’. A 2020 report by 10X Investments found that only 8% of economically active South Africans are confident in their retirement plan, and 50% aren’t saving for retirement at all. The National Treasury estimates that, overall, only 10% of retired South Africans will be able to maintain their preretirement standard of living.

If the system we have is failing 90% of people, it’s a broken system. Scaring people into saving more for their retirement can’t work if there’s just no money to be saved: 20- and 30-something South Africans are entering their prime saving years in the midst of a a climate emergency, with an unemployment rate that means every individual lucky enough to have a job is most likely supporting several people who aren’t that lucky.