Over the past 25 years, the JSE has been through three major downturns. There was the emerging markets crisis in the late 1990s, the dot-com crash in the early 2000s, and the financial crisis that hit in 2008.

Despite these setbacks, the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (Alsi) delivered an annualised return of 13.6% between January 1996 and November 2019. At an average inflation rate of 5.8%, this means that investors have earned real returns of 7.7% per year.

Contributions to retirement funds are tax deductible, within certain limits. The maximum tax deduction you may make in a tax year is limited to the greater of 27.5% of taxable income or remuneration from your employer, subject to an annual ceiling of R350 000. On 1 March 2016, the tax deductions for retirement savings increased from 15% to 27.5% - which means you can now save more for retirement and get back more from SARS.

Have you taken the plunge and started your own business, but sacrificed some (if not all) of your savings to do it? Mthobisi Mthimkhulu suggests using a tax-free investment to boost your savings and preserve your tax benefits.

When approaching retirement, in a depressed market, does it really matter if you cash in your pension to whatever product? Let’s say at current market conditions the value of the pension is R5 million, but a few months ago it was R5.5 million, before the market dipped. If you transfer R5 million and the markets pick up again, would you also benefit from the same upswing in your retirement annuity, as the equity portion of the annuity is not that much lower as just before you retired?

It's vital to stick to the formalities when executing your will.

Your will expresses your final wishes about the distribution of your assets when you die. Given its importance it is astounding that the process of drafting a will is not taken more seriously, ideally with the assistance of someone experienced in will drafting. The need to ensure that emotions are kept in check and that all formalities are adhered to is critical.