I recently realised, to my horror, that pension fund and retirement annuity providers are winning at consumer education. With my first job came an onslaught of pension fund providers vying to communicate with my broke ass. I didn’t know how to budget, how to manage my debt, how to navigate myself out of a brown paper bag, but did I know who to call about retirement.

Unfortunately, in the process of educating consumers to sell retirement annuities, providers fail to connect retirement savings with other aspects of financial life. The tax implications can be especially worrisome. Understanding taxes in relation to retirement savings is an important piece of the asset allocation puzzle in a broader portfolio.

This week we received two excellent questions about retirement savings and taxes. Organisations like Gradidge-Mahura Investments are devoted to helping people figure out how to navigate this tricky terrain as part of a larger wealth management strategy. We asked co-founder Craig Gradidge to answer two questions.

Firstly, what is the most tax efficient way to treat your retirement savings when you change jobs? Secondly, what does it mean to get a 27.5% tax rebate on retirement savings? Craig drops knowledge bombs all over this episode.

Thanks to Petrus Booysens and Tim Milner for your excellent questions. Remember, The Fat Wallet Show is about learning. If you have a question about money or investments, no matter how simple, send it to us at [email protected].

Finally, at the beginning of the episode I allow myself a little indulgence by talking about one of my favourite Johannesburg hangouts, The Orbit. You can find out more about that here.

Kris