Two-Pot Retirement Impact Calculator
A Two-Pot withdrawal feels like free money — but every rand you take from your Savings Component today is a rand that stops compounding for the rest of your career. This calculator translates a withdrawal into the retirement capital you permanently give up.
Retirement Impact Calculator
See how much future retirement capital a withdrawal today really costs you.
A diversified SA retirement portfolio has historically targeted roughly 8–10% nominal. Default 8.5%.
Future retirement value forfeited
R 231 165
in 30 years' time
- Amount withdrawn today
- R 20 000
- Years left to compound
- 30 years
- Assumed annual return
- 8.5%
- Growth you forfeit
- R 211 165
- Total future value lost
- R 231 165
Every R 20 000 withdrawn today is worth 11.6× more at retirement. This compound opportunity cost assumes the money stays invested at a constant return until retirement. Real returns vary year to year.
Why withdrawing early is so expensive
Compound growth is exponential, not linear. Money invested for 30 years does not simply earn 30 years of interest — it earns interest on its interest, year after year. That is why a modest withdrawal in your thirties can cost you many multiples of the amount at retirement. Withdrawing R20,000 at age 35, at an 8.5% return, removes well over R200,000 from your age-65 nest egg.
How the calculation works
We apply the standard future-value formula to the amount you withdraw:
Future value lost = Withdrawal × (1 + return)^years
The years figure is the gap between your current age and your target retirement age, and the return is your expected annual investment growth. The "growth forfeited" figure strips out your original withdrawal so you can see the pure compounding cost.
Before you withdraw
- Confirm the tax cost of the withdrawal — SARS taxes it at your marginal rate today.
- Check the withdrawal rules (R2,000 minimum, one claim per tax year).
- Use the core withdrawal calculator to see your net cash after tax and fees.
Figures are estimates based on a constant assumed return and do not account for inflation, fees, or market volatility. This is not financial advice.
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