During and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the media reported that many retirement fund members who found themselves in financial stress had solved their problems by resigning and withdrawing their entire retirement funds. These reports highlighted a practice that was not new.

In a document titled “Encouraging South African households to save more for retirement” in December 2021, the National Treasury reported that, according to South African Revenue Service (Sars) data for each of 2016, 2017 and 2018, more than 700,000 people cashed in their retirement funds...

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