South African retirement fund members are retiring with less than half the income they will need, a leading survey shows. The contribution rates and returns of most retirement funds are designed to deliver savings that will buy a pension equal to between 60% and 75% of income at retirement, but current members are on track for a pension of only 42.9%, Alexander Forbes's research shows. The biggest problem is that more than 80% of members withdraw their retirement savings when they change jobs. Far too few are planning - only 13% of people aged 35 and older have a comprehensive retirement plan that they are implementing and only 7% of people currently aged 25 to 35 have such a plan, a recent 10X Investments survey shows. No matter what age you are, you can still plan for a better pension by following these simple rules: Save enough Set a retirement goal and establish the numbers that will achieve that goal. For example, if you want a pension equal to 75% of your income at retirement,...
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