Am I on track to retire?
Six numbers tell you what your pot grows to, the income it pays, the gap to the income you need — and what cashing in your two-pot savings component costs you at retirement.
These are not your numbers. Thandi is our made-up example: 38, earning R38 000 a month before tax, R420 000 saved for retirement and R25 000 in her two-pot savings component.
Am I on track to retire?
Executive summary for Thandi · retiring at 65 · today’s Rands, after inflation
Behind.
On current savings Thandi would retire on about 39% of the income she needs. She has 27 working years left — enough time to move this, if she starts now.
R 17 306 a month short at 65What R420 000 plus R3 800 a month grows to, in today’s money (4% real growth).
What that pot pays at a 4% drawdown.
75% of her R38 000 salary.
Costs about R 7 750 in tax to cash in now, at her 31% marginal rate.
What that R25 000 would be worth at 65 if she leaves it.
Projected income as a share of the income needed.
What this means
- Her pot pays R 11 194 a month, against the R 28 500 she needs to keep her lifestyle.
- The gap is about R 17 306 a month of retirement income at 65.
- Cashing in the R25 000 savings pot now costs R 72 084 at 65 — plus about R 7 750 in tax today.
- Saving more, retiring later, or both are the levers — enter your own numbers to see which moves you most.
Thandi’s pot vs the pot she needs
Needed pot = R 28 500 × 12 ÷ 4% drawdown. Ages 38 / 45 / 55 / 65: R0.42m, R0.91m, R1.90m, R3.36m.
Now do it with your numbers
Six numbers, about a minute. You land straight on your own retirement summary — no sign-up, saved to our database (delete it any time from Account).
How we calculate it
- Everything is in today’s Rands — growth is 4% a year after inflation, so R1 at 65 buys what R1 buys now.
- Income needed is 75% of your current gross salary, a common rule of thumb for keeping your lifestyle.
- The pot is drawn down at 4% a year to turn it into a monthly income.
- The two-pot cost taxes a savings-component withdrawal at the marginal rate on your salary (SARS 2025/26 tables), and shows what that money would have grown to.
We calculate; we never name a financial product. MaxWealth does not recommend a fund, an RA or a provider. For advice on what to buy, speak to an authorised financial adviser.