{"id":54741,"date":"2023-10-08T10:35:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T10:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats"},"modified":"2023-10-08T10:35:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T10:35:07","slug":"big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats","title":{"rendered":"Big pension problem for South African expats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Martin Bezuidenhout and Chavaughn Phillips from Tax Consulting SA say there is a massive problem for South Africans living overseas who want to claim their pension benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpatriates are often under the impression that they need to wait three years before they can formalise their non-residency status,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis can be due to various reasons such as misunderstanding the legislative amendments, advisors wanting to monetise on the withdrawal of these retirement funds and the subsequent remittance offshore or lack of professional guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experts said that the confusion was likely due to the introduction of the 3-year lock-up rule, which started in March 2021.<\/p>\n

Before introduction, individuals who ended their tax residency and confirmed their emigration with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) could immediately remove their retirement funds from South Africa.<\/p>\n

However, since its introduction in March 2021, individuals who wanted to end their tax residency and confirm their emigration status with the SARB could immediately withdraw their benefits from South Africa.<\/p>\n

These individual\u2019s retirement benefits are locked in for a minimum period of three years, after which they can be fully withdrawn (subject to lump sum tax implications).<\/p>\n

However, this does not mean that an individual who wishes to withdraw their retirement interest should postpone their formation of non-residency until the three-year period has ended.<\/p>\n

This is a risky approach as tax residents in South Africa are taxable on their worldwide income, while non-residents are only taxable on their South African sourced income.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means that tax residents should declare their worldwide income to SARS and then claim the specific exemption if they meet the requirements,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n

Ending South African tax residency<\/p>\n

South Africans can end their tax residency by either proving to SARS that they no longer reside in South Africa or via an application to the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA).<\/p>\n

\u201cCessation through the application of the ordinarily resident test requires the individual to prove to SARS objectively that they intend to reside outside of South Africa permanently,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, if you have the intention to reside abroad permanently and the intention can objectively be substantiated, you will break the ordinarily resident test and will qualify to cease your tax residency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis once-off process requires documentary evidence substantiating their intention to reside abroad to meet the qualifying criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding DTA relief, South Africans must follow specific steps and provide evidence to show that they are no longer a resident of South Africa, such as a foreign tax residency certificate.<\/p>\n

This relief is claimed annually and is the best option for someone who wants to live overseas for several years but does not wish to live there permanently.<\/p>\n

The Danger of Waiting<\/p>\n

The experts said that any South African who has not formalised their non-residency status in South Africa will be required to declare their worldwide income to SARS while doing their tax returns in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Not declaring this income as a resident is seen as office.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurther, there might be a risk of double tax exposure, as the foreign employment exemption, which is limited to R1,250,000, only applies to employment income. Many South Africans living abroad earn above this threshold and are therefore at risk,\u201d they said<\/p>\n

To ensure compliance, the SARS issues a confirmation letter to taxpayers once they meet the relevant criteria to be seen as a non-resident.<\/p>\n

This letter and ancillary documentation are required to ensure the full withdrawal of someone\u2019s retirement funds before maturity.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Martin Bezuidenhout and Chavaughn Phillips from Tax Consulting SA say there is a massive problem for South Africans living overseas who want to claim their pension benefits. \u201cExpatriates are often under the impression that they need to wait three years before they can formalise their non-residency status,\u201d the experts said. \u201cThis can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":54740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,7],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-54741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nBig pension problem for South African expats - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Big pension problem for South African expats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – South-Africa. Martin Bezuidenhout and Chavaughn Phillips from Tax Consulting SA say there is a massive problem for South Africans living overseas who want to claim their pension benefits. \u201cExpatriates are often under the impression that they need to wait three years before they can formalise their non-residency status,\u201d the experts said. \u201cThis can […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-08T10:35:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Big pension problem for South African expats\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-08T10:35:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats\"},\"wordCount\":599,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\",\"head lines\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats\",\"name\":\"Big pension problem for South African expats - South Africa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-08T10:35:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":576,\"caption\":\"Big pension problem for South African expats\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Big pension problem for South African expats\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Big pension problem for South African expats - South Africa","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Big pension problem for South African expats","og_description":"Africa-Press – South-Africa. Martin Bezuidenhout and Chavaughn Phillips from Tax Consulting SA say there is a massive problem for South Africans living overseas who want to claim their pension benefits. \u201cExpatriates are often under the impression that they need to wait three years before they can formalise their non-residency status,\u201d the experts said. \u201cThis can […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats","og_site_name":"South Africa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-10-08T10:35:07+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Big pension problem for South African expats","datePublished":"2023-10-08T10:35:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats"},"wordCount":599,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-South-Africa","South-Africa"],"articleSection":["all news","economy","head lines"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats","name":"Big pension problem for South African expats - South Africa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-08T10:35:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696751459.277114.jpg","width":1024,"height":576,"caption":"Big pension problem for South African expats"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-pension-problem-for-south-african-expats#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Big pension problem for South African expats"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/","name":"South Africa","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}