Frequently Asked Questions

You can book a no-obligation discovery meeting by completing the contact form on this site, calling 068 175 4156, or emailing svanzyl3@oldmutual.com. We will respond within one business day to confirm a time. The first meeting is free of charge.

The first meeting is a discovery conversation. We listen to your goals, responsibilities, current arrangements, and concerns. We do not recommend any product at this stage. The aim is to understand whether we are the right fit for each other and to map out what a financial plan for you could look like.

It helps to bring an overview of your income, expenses, debts, retirement savings, investments, insurance policies, and any wills or trust deeds. If you do not have everything to hand, do not worry. We can build the picture together over the first one or two meetings.

Financial planning fees vary by adviser and service model. SVZ AND ASSOCIATES charges an advice fee plus product costs, both disclosed transparently in writing before any decisions are made. There are no hidden charges. The exact figure depends on the scope of the work and is agreed up front.

No. The discovery meeting is free. We only charge once we have agreed on a scope of work and you have given written consent to proceed.

Our office is at Pinewood Park Building, 98 Forest Drive, Lonsdale Way, Pinelands, 7405. We meet clients in person at the office and also offer virtual meetings via Microsoft Teams or Zoom for clients elsewhere in the Western Cape and across South Africa.

Yes. Sean van Zyl has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) professional since 2016. The CFP® designation is the gold standard in financial planning, awarded by the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) after rigorous study, examination, experience, and ongoing continuing professional development.

Sean holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from the University of the Free State and a BCom Honours in Financial Management from UNISA. He is a registered tax practitioner with SARS, a member of the South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT), and a Business Accountant (SA). He also serves on the FPI Tax Committee and as a Director of the Pinelands City Improvement District.

SVZ AND ASSOCIATES operates within Old Mutual Personal Financial Advice. All advice given is governed by the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS), and Old Mutual is an authorised Financial Services Provider regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). This means you have the protection of South Africa's financial advice regulatory framework.

It means SVZ AND ASSOCIATES is an authorised practice within Old Mutual's Personal Financial Advice channel. We have access to Old Mutual's full product platform, technical specialists, research, and compliance infrastructure, while running our own client-facing practice with our own service standards, team, and culture.

Your investments, retirement annuities, living annuities, and insurance contracts are held with Old Mutual or one of its product providers. Funds are held in regulated, ring-fenced product structures, not with the adviser personally. We never take custody of your money.

You can verify any financial adviser in South Africa via the FSCA's public register at fsca.co.za, and you can check CFP® professional status on the Financial Planning Institute's directory at fpi.co.za. Always confirm an adviser's FSP number, licence categories, and continued status before doing business.

A pension or provident fund is an employer-sponsored retirement vehicle that you contribute to via payroll. A retirement annuity (RA) is a personal retirement product you can take out independently, regardless of your employment status. Both enjoy the same SARS contribution deduction (up to 27.5% of taxable income, capped at R350 000 per year), and both are subject to Regulation 28 investment limits.

A guaranteed (life) annuity pays a fixed income for life and is issued by an insurer that takes on the investment and longevity risk. A living annuity is an investment-linked annuity where you choose your underlying funds and your annual drawdown rate (between 2.5% and 17.5%), with any remaining capital passing to your beneficiaries when you die. Many retirees blend the two.

A common rule of thumb is to save 15% of your gross income from your first salary, increasing as your income rises. The exact figure depends on when you start, your target retirement age, your expected lifestyle, and other assets you may have. We model this for each client individually using a retirement cash flow projection.

Yes, but the rules constrain access to retirement fund savings. Retirement annuities and most pension funds only allow retirement (and access to the income) from age 55, except in cases of permanent disability. Discretionary investments, tax-free savings accounts, and the new two-pot retirement system 'savings component' offer earlier liquidity.

From 1 September 2024, all new retirement fund contributions are split into two components: one-third goes into a 'savings component' that members can withdraw from once per tax year, and two-thirds goes into a 'retirement component' that must be preserved for income at retirement. Vested rights accrued before 1 September 2024 are protected.

South African retirement fund rules generally allow you to take up to one-third of your retirement fund as a cash lump sum (taxed on the retirement lump sum tax tables) and require at least two-thirds to purchase an annuity. Whether to take the full third depends on your tax position, your income needs, and your other assets. We model both paths before any decision.

Yes. Sean is a registered tax practitioner with SARS and we partner with DoMyTax for individual tax returns, provisional tax submissions, and SARS dispute resolution. We can integrate your tax position directly into your broader financial plan.

Contributions to retirement annuities, pension funds, and provident funds are tax-deductible up to 27.5% of the higher of your remuneration or taxable income, capped at R350 000 per year. Contributions above the cap are not lost; they roll over and can reduce tax on future lump sums or annuity income.

A tax-free savings account (TFSA) allows you to contribute up to R36 000 per tax year and R500 000 over your lifetime, with all interest, dividends, and capital growth taxed at zero. Exceeding the annual or lifetime cap triggers a 40% penalty tax on the excess. TFSAs are particularly useful for long-term, growth-oriented capital alongside a retirement annuity.

Estate duty is levied at 20% on the dutiable amount of an estate up to R30 million, and at 25% on amounts above R30 million. The first R3.5 million of every individual estate is exempt under the Section 4A abatement, and any unused abatement of a predeceased spouse can be rolled over, giving a married couple up to R7 million in combined abatement.

Yes. Without a valid will, your estate is distributed in terms of the Intestate Succession Act, which may not reflect your wishes and almost always slows down the winding up of the estate. A will should be reviewed every few years and after any major life event (marriage, divorce, birth, property purchase, business interest).

South African residents can transfer up to R1 million per calendar year offshore as a single discretionary allowance and a further R10 million per calendar year as a foreign investment allowance, subject to a SARS tax clearance certificate. We help clients structure this within an overall offshore investment plan.

We believe in long-term, evidence-based investing using diversified portfolios appropriate to each client's goal, time horizon, and risk tolerance. We do not chase short-term performance or attempt to time markets. Costs, tax efficiency, behaviour, and consistent contributions matter more than fund-of-the-month picks.

Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act sets prudent investment limits for South African retirement funds, including a maximum of 75% in equities, 25% in property, and 45% offshore (including up to 10% in Africa outside South Africa). It is designed to protect long-term retirement savings from excessive concentration risk.

Most diversified retirement portfolios make full use of the 45% Regulation 28 offshore allowance, with discretionary investments often allocating even more to offshore assets. The right percentage depends on your time horizon, your existing rand-based assets (such as your home), and your future spending currency.

Investment advice fees in South Africa are typically structured as a percentage of assets, with VAT, and reduce as the portfolio grows. The exact rate is agreed in writing before any investment is placed. There are no platform or product trail commissions retained by the adviser without disclosure.

Markets are volatile, and short-term losses are part of long-term investing. Our role is to make sure your portfolio is appropriately diversified, that your time horizon matches your investment, and that you do not sell into weakness. We engage with clients proactively during downturns to revisit the plan, not the panic.

A common starting point is 10 to 15 times your annual income, plus the value of any debts (especially the home loan), plus a provision for children's future education. The exact figure depends on your dependants, existing assets, and estate liquidity needs. We run a needs analysis as part of the plan.

Disability cover (also called lump sum disability) pays a single tax-free lump sum if you become permanently disabled and cannot work. Income protection (or temporary disability) pays a monthly income while you are unable to work, including for shorter illnesses or injuries. Most clients need a combination of both.

Sick leave generally only covers a few weeks. If you suffer a serious illness, accident, or surgery requiring months of recovery, sick leave runs out long before you are ready to work. Income protection pays a monthly benefit until you can return to work or until retirement age, whichever comes first.

Yes. Our team includes a medical aid specialist with 14 years of healthcare consulting experience. We help clients compare plans across leading South African schemes and pair the right medical aid with appropriate gap cover.

By default, we conduct an annual review meeting where we revisit your goals, performance, and any changes in your life or in tax law. Many clients also book ad hoc check-ins around major events such as a job change, inheritance, marriage, or property purchase.

Reach out as soon as the change happens. Major life events (a new child, a salary increase, retrenchment, divorce, a serious illness) almost always have a financial planning angle. We would rather adjust the plan early than wait for the next scheduled review.

Yes. While we are based in Pinelands, Cape Town, we serve clients across the Western Cape and throughout South Africa via virtual consultations. Many of our long-standing clients live elsewhere in South Africa or have relocated abroad.

In most cases yes. We can analyse your existing investments, retirement annuities, and insurance contracts, and help you decide whether to keep them in place, restructure them, or transfer them to a more suitable arrangement. We never recommend a switch unless it is in your interests, and we explain any costs involved up front.

Word of mouth is how most of our clients find us. The simplest way is to share our website (svzandassociates.co.za) or pass on Sean's contact details. We will treat any referral with the same care, confidentiality, and respect that we treat you with.