Retirement Planning · January 25, 2026 · 6 min read
Adapting your retirement planning approach in response to evolving market conditions and regulatory changes.
Retirement planning has never been more complex — or more important. Longer life expectancies, evolving two-pot pension regulations, and a low-yield environment for traditional fixed income investments have fundamentally altered the calculus of sustainable retirement income.
South Africa's two-pot retirement system, now fully implemented, introduces new planning considerations around savings pot access, retirement component preservation, and tax efficiency. For those still in accumulation phase, understanding the interaction between the two components is critical to maximising retirement outcomes.
In drawdown, the sequencing of returns matters enormously. A poor sequence of returns in the early years of retirement can permanently impair a portfolio's longevity. Dynamic drawdown strategies — adjusting income levels in response to portfolio performance — offer a meaningful improvement over rigid fixed withdrawal approaches.
Retirement is not the end of an investment journey, it is a transition to a new phase that requires as much strategic thinking as the accumulation years.
Our Novare Balanced Fund is particularly well suited as a core retirement income vehicle, offering diversification, capital preservation focus, and the stability needed during drawdown.