Five things to know before you make a two-pot withdrawal

Here’s a checklist of what you need to know or put in place:  

⌛Time frame: You may find that you can only receive withdrawal amounts from mid-September because your retirement fund still needs to verify your seeding amount and carry out the appropriate checks and balances.

?The process may also take longer if your retirement fund administrator cannot facilitate claims via an automated electronic payment process which does not need manual intervention. Guy Chennells, chief commercial officer at Discovery Corporate and Employee Benefits, says this could delay the process by weeks or months, depending on the volume of applications received. 

☎️Contact details: Check that your personal details are correct. If the spelling of your full name on your fund’s record differs from your identity document, your application will be rejected to avoid fraud.

?SARS issues: If you have unresolved disputes with the SA Revenue Service (SARS), a tax directive might not be issued. A directive is a requirement for withdrawal. If you owe SARS money, this will automatically be deducted from your withdrawal. You must have a valid tax registration number

?No backsies: Several administrators have withdrawal calculators on their websites. Use these to calculate your withdrawal. Once a fund administrator has applied for a tax directive, SARS’ rules state that the withdrawal process cannot be stopped. This means you cannot change your mind once you see the tax implications of your withdrawal request. Also, ask your retirement fund administrator what administration fee will be charged. DM

Read more in Daily Maverick: Everything you need to know about the two-pot retirement reform