What is the Two-Pot Retirement System?
With the start of a new tax year, in-service members may again consider applying for a withdrawal from their Savings Pot under the Two-Pot retirement system.
Introduced on 1 September 2024, the system separates your retirement savings into different components to allow limited access to a portion of your savings while preserving the larger portion for retirement. Under the system, one-third of your future contributions go to the Savings Pot, which can be accessed once a year (if the balance is at least R2 000); two-thirds go to the Retirement Pot, which is preserved until retirement; and the Vested Component includes savings accumulated before 1 September 2024.
If you’re interested in applying for a Two-Pot withdrawal from your Savings Pot, we encourage you to first review the detailed information below. This includes guidance on how the Two-Pot system works, what the implications of withdrawing may be, and a step-by-step guide on how to submit your application on the Member Portal.
Important to understand: When you make a Two-Pot withdrawal claim, you will have to pay tax on the amount, as well as any money you owe SARS. In other words, if you owe money to SARS, that money will be deducted by SARS when we apply for your tax directive as part of the Two-Pot claim process, and you will receive the balance as your withdrawal amount.
Here’s more information on the 2026-2027 applicable tax:
The table above is from SARS. For more information, click here.
How does the Two-Pot Retirement System benefit you?
The Two-Pot Retirement System offers several key benefits:
- Financial Security: The Retirement Pot will guarantee a reliable income for you during retirement, as it is inaccessible while you are employed.
- Flexibility: The Savings Pot allows you to access cash in the case of an emergency if you need it without resigning. Even if some cash is accessed, the bigger portion of your retirement savings will be preserved for you until retirement, so that you can retire with a financial safety net.
Report Fraud and suspicious activity
If you suspect any fraud, irregular or suspicious activity contact the Call Centre immediately at 0800 11 45 48 (from South Africa) or +27 10 013 3366 (from outside South Africa). Should you need to do so anonymously there is also the Vuvuzela Fraud and Ethics hotline (https://www.thehotline.co.za) which can be contacted on 0800 212 320.
