Nicholas Nefdt - Liberty Financial Adviser

14/04/2020

Stay covered with insurance!

If money is tight, but you support family members, do everything you can not to let your life policy lapse. Although coronavirus deaths are low, they will be a reality for some.

If you cannot pay your premiums, check how long your grace period is and try to meet the payment thereafter. If you are retrenched, check for premium waiver cover. As a last resort, you could also ask your assurer to reduce your cover and premiums while you are in financial difficulty.

If you are self-employed and have income replacement cover, with cover for temporary disability and a short waiting period - especially if you are self-employed - you may be able to claim for days you cannot work.

Suspending short-term insurance for your car, home or contents is also not a good idea, unless you enjoy a "pause" feature like that offered by Naked, which enables you to pause accident cover when you aren't driving your car for a few days or weeks but continues cover for theft and fire.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bt/money/2020-03-29-stay-covered-with-insurance/

13/04/2020

Reviewing your cover is a key part of life:

Most people make the mistake of treating their policy with an "out of sight, out of mind" approach:

You would probably sooner do the chores you hate than book an appointment to review your life cover.

You may want to avoid this annual checkup because you are underinsured but can't afford to pay more for cover. Or you may not want to think about life with a disability or your family's life after your death. Or the complex trade-offs a good review involves may be putting you off.

But failing to do it could compromise your best plans to move ahead in your career, support or be supported by your life partner and family, start your own business and ultimately retire comfortably.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bt/money/2020-03-15-reviewing-your-cover-is-a-key-part-of-life/

04/12/2019

We work so hard to accomplish educational goals, that when we finally overcome that 3-11 year milestone we never think about "What if". Protect the assets that matter most to you, after all, you earned the right to.

03/12/2019

Income protection policies now come with better benefits.

An informed financial adviser can be invaluable to ensure you obtain the right assurance for your needs:

Income protection insurance is crucial for anybody who depends on their monthly income. Policies offering these benefits have evolved and become more consumer-friendly, but you need to know what to look for to get the best benefits.

An informed financial adviser can be invaluable to ensure you obtain the right assurance for your needs. You should expect your adviser to recommend a policy that meets your needs and that will pay out when you claim.

If you are formally employed and "side-hustling" for extra income to make ends meet, you'll want to cover these earnings too under your income protection policy.
Kresantha Pillay, lead specialist for Lifestyle Protector at Liberty, says some people's dependence on their side hustle is quite significant at almost a quarter of their overall income.

As a result, Liberty has updated its income protection offering to cover two income streams under the same policy.
Previously, policyholders with two occupations would have had to insure them separately, resulting in more paperwork and costs, she says.
To qualify, your second income should be one you declare to the South African Revenue Service and should make up 20% or more of your annual income, she says.

An informed financial adviser can be invaluable to ensure you obtain the right assurance for your needs

13/11/2019

9 investment elements your parents wish they had
There’s never been a better time to be an investor:

Investing is hard. Let no-one ever tell you that simply putting money aside on a monthly basis without a proper strategy will solve all your retirement problems. It’s estimated that up to 80% of your retirement pot is likely to come from the growth in your monthly savings rather than the actual savings themselves.

As such, we need to give the appropriate attention to how this money is invested. Fortunately, the world of investments is constantly evolving and, in many ways, we now have more opportunities and tools at our disposal than previous generations had.

So how does the current landscape of investing stack up relative to the world of your parents?

Nine investment elements your parents wish they had:

1. Choice
2. Technology
3. Insights
4. Costs
5. Opportunity
6. Accessibility
7. Implementation
8. Expand asset set
9. Legislation.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bt/money/2019-11-08-9-native-investment-elements-your-parents-wish-they-had/

06/11/2019

Are you at risk with too little life cover?
Insurance body identifies R2.2m death and disability gap:

The average South African earner needs to spend about 7% of monthly after-tax income on topping up their life and disability insurance to avoid their family having to cut their monthly expenses by about a third should he or she no longer be able to earn an income.

The average South African earner is under-insured for death and disability by an average of R2.2m, says the latest Life and Disability Insurance Gap study by the Association of Savings and Investment SA (Asisa).

The study says the average South African needs to take additional death cover at an average cost of about 4.6% of after-tax monthly income, and 2.6% for disability insurance, to make up the shortfall.

Insurance body identifies R2.2m death and disability gap

28/10/2019

WOUTER FOURIE: Five risks to your chances of retiring well - and the antidotes.

While these conditions may be a risk to your pension fund, the greater risk to your nest egg and to you retiring comfortably is much closer to home.

1.• Lack of proper planning
The risks here are numerous, but many of them boil down to being overoptimistic. Being overoptimistic includes thinking that your lack of proper planning and investment in the first half of your career will be magically erased in the second half, and, once you start planning for retirement, thinking that you will fully understand all the complex calculations and fee structures of the various investment products available.

2 • Your poor investment history
Tied to poor planning, you must keep in mind your past practices and how they will affect your life after retirement.
If you have not saved enough because you have withdrawn some of your retirement funds when you changed jobs or lost money on an ill-advised investment, you may have to face facts and adjust your post-retirement expectations.

3 • Longevity
Each successive generation is living longer than the one before and by most estimates, babies born today will live to 120 years old. As we live longer, we will find ourselves relying on our retirement savings for much longer.

4 • Health
Do you know that most of your lifetime spending on health-care costs will come after you retire? Unfortunately, pensioners are faced with the double whammy of rapidly increasing health-care inflation and more visits to the doctor and hospital as they age, placing an increasing strain on their available income.

5 • Your choice of annuity
As most pension funds moved from a defined benefit model (that pays a pension related to your final earnings) to a defined contribution model (that pays only your accumulated savings), the responsibility shifted to you to decide how to invest your pension lump sum so that it would provide the necessary monthly income after you have retired.

While these conditions may be a risk to your pension fund, the greater risk to your nest egg and to you retiring comfortably is much closer to home

02/09/2019

Goals alter the savings game:

A new study on savings behaviour highlights the critical importance and value of having a retirement plan driven by specific goals over a long period.

Research from the behavioural science team at US-based fund ratings house Morningstar makes the startling finding that people who look into the future, visualise the lifestyle they would like to lead in retirement and set specific goals, save on average 20 times more money than those with time horizons of less than a year.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bt/money/2019-08-25-goals-alter-the-savings-game/

21/08/2019

Nudging your weaknesses into strengths for a happy retirement.

Attempts to positively change people's behaviour without removing freedom of choice can have a life-changing impact:

Attempts to positively change people's behaviour without removing freedom of choice can have a life-changing impact

10/07/2019

Train your brain to start saving right now.

National Savings Month presents a fresh opportunity to do a midyear audit of your finances to ensure you're on track to reach your savings goals - be it a holiday in December, a deposit on a car, or extra money towards your retirement savings.

If you don't have any savings goals, now is the time to set some. You can make excuses, or you can make a plan.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bt/money/2019-07-07-train-your-brain-to-start-saving-right-now/

03/06/2019

WHY DO YOU NEED RISK COVER?

The obvious reason for risk cover is to provide for your loved ones and other dependants if you pass away. Many, however, overlook the fact that your ability to earn an income is your largest asset and your expenses will not disappear if you are unable to work. Disability and critical illness cover should therefore be in place as soon as possible and before there are any dependants to protect.