Retirement Annuity (RA) Calculator — South Africa
Project your retirement annuity balance and monthly income. Model contributions, growth, and the impact of fees.
Last updated: May 2026
Your Current Position
Enter 0 if you're starting fresh.
Used to calculate your SARS tax deduction on RA contributions (27.5% cap, max R350,000/yr).
Want to compare your RA against a Tax-Free Savings Account?
See both vehicles side-by-side and find out which builds more wealth for your situation.
Projects your RA fund value at retirement, estimates monthly income from drawdown, and shows how much tax you save each year through RA contributions.
Key inputs explained
- Monthly contribution
- What you contribute each month. The calculator assumes this grows with your salary increase rate.
- Annual salary
- Used to calculate the 27.5%/R350k deductibility cap and your estimated annual tax saving.
- Marginal tax rate
- Your top tax bracket — determines how much SARS subsidises your contribution.
- Drawdown rate
- The percentage of your fund you withdraw annually in retirement. A 4% rate is considered sustainable for 25+ years.
Contributions up to 27.5% of your taxable income (max R350 000/year) are tax-deductible. SARS effectively subsidises your retirement — the higher your marginal tax rate, the bigger the benefit.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can deduct RA contributions of up to 27.5% of your taxable income (or remuneration, whichever is higher), subject to an annual cap of R350,000. Contributions above this limit are carried forward and deducted in future years, or treated as tax-free when you take your retirement benefit.
You can access your RA from age 55 onwards. At retirement, you may take up to one-third as a lump sum (the first R550,000 is tax-free). The remaining two-thirds must be used to purchase an annuity (pension) for retirement income.
On death, your RA fund value does not form part of your deceased estate and is therefore not subject to estate duty. The trustees of the fund distribute the proceeds to your financial dependants or nominated beneficiaries at their discretion, following Section 37C of the Pension Funds Act.
Watch for total investment charges (TIC) — the combination of the product platform fee, underlying fund management fees, and any adviser fees. A TIC above 2% per year has a material long-term impact. On a R1M fund over 20 years at 10% growth, a 2% fee costs roughly R600,000 more than a 0.5% fee.
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