– when making a Career Move.
I was featured in the Argus, in the Personal Finance section, recently.
Going solo with retirement savings
Going independent, there’s the option of transferring your existing savings into a preservation fund or retirement annuity (RA), which comes with unique tax benefits, or withdrawing those funds in cash, which experts tend to advise against because of the tax implications, among other things.
Transferring to your own retirement product comes with a few advantages, depending on how involved you would like to be in the planning.
“It allows you the freedom of choice in terms of product provider or platform, as well as many more fund choices and the flexibility to make changes when you want to,” says Sonja Linde, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) at Insync Financial Services. That flexibility includes the option to contribute a certain amount (perhaps more than what an employer would have allowed), and being able to pause and resume contributions more flexibly.
One thing to watch out for is the fees attached to individually holding such a retirement product. So, what steps can you take to put this in action? As soon as you’ve handed in your notice of resignation, speak to a CFP about the product best suited to your needs, and once a solution has been chosen, and investment opened, ask your HR representative for the withdrawal claim form for a transfer of funds to the new product. Also, ask for written confirmation of this transfer once submitted, and ensure that the deposit has been made into your new investment.
