The National Treasury plans to amend the law to grant pension scheme members up to 40 per cent of their savings for home purchases. This is a departure from the norm where money under pension schemes is only released at retirement or in part when a member leaves employment midway. The Retirement Benefits (Mortgage Loans) (Amendment) Regulation, 2020 is an upgrade of the Retirement Benefits Act, 1997 that allowed retirement schemes’ members to allocate up to 60 per cent of their benefits towards securing a mortgage loan. However, the loan was never used as banks preferred to have the actual house as security rather than the pension savings. The regulations have been hailed by pension members as a step in the right direction, with those who spoke to the Star saying the amendment was long overdue.

Source: The Star September 24, 2020 00:56 UTC