| RETIREMENT FUND MEMBERSHIP MANUAL
BENEFITS AND OPTIONS PROVIDED BY THE FUND ON RETIREMENT Disclaimer he information in this guide does not constitute advice by either the Board of Trustees or its professional T advisors. Members are encouraged to seek expert advice from a personal financial advisor before taking decisions regarding their benefits from the Fund. • T he Fund will try to ensure that the material in this guide is up to date and accurate, but this cannot be guaranteed at all times. •
INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your retirement from the CPUT Retirement Fund! Now that you are retiring from employment and starting a new chapter of your life, you need to make some important decisions. There are a number of options available to you and these are discussed later on in this note. Furthermore, attached is a detailed guide called “Options available to you when you retire” which explains all the options in great detail. Important note: At the time of retirement, you will remain a paid-up member until you elect in writing to receive your retirement benefit. What this means is that your benefit will stay in the Fund until you decide to retire from the Fund. Another term often used for this is that you become a “deferred pensioner” in the Fund.
TIMING OF RETIREMENT Your normal retirement age is 65, but you are allowed to retire early from age 55 onwards.
YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFIT With effect from 1 September 2024, there were some major changes affecting retirement funds in South Africa. It is therefore important to explain how things operated prior to this date. How the benefits work after 1 September 2024, is explained later. Up until 1 September 2024, the Fund operated as follows:
HOW THINGS WORKED PRE - 1 SEPTEMEBER 2024
CONTRIBUTIONS + INVESTMENT RETURNS
55
MEMBER SHARE ACCOUNT **
BENEFITS PAID