By Samukelo Zwane
With three waves of research now complete, we can begin to see which shifts may be short-term responses to economic pressure, and which may point to more lasting changes in the way South Africans approach retirement.
Encouragingly, the 2026 findings show a retirement landscape that is both encouraging and complex. More people are thinking seriously about retirement and more under-60s say they have a plan in place. Retirement planning is also becoming more evident in everyday financial conversations.
However, despite this growing awareness, for many people having a plan does not always mean feeling ready. The responses show that many South Africans remain uncertain about whether they are saving enough, which products are appropriate for their needs, how to respond to unexpected financial pressure and whether the retirement they imagine will match the reality they eventually experience.
Four themes stand out in this year's findings:
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Artificial intelligence is changing how people access financial information AI is becoming a more common source of financial information, particularly for consumers who want quick, private and easy-to-understand answers. This is an important shift in how people begin engaging with retirement planning. At the same time, the research highlights a clear distinction between access to information and the ability to make informed decisions. Human guidance still plays an important role in helping people interpret information in the context of their own lives.
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Retirement readiness is shaped by the products people hold This year's research shows a clear relationship between product ownership and perceived retirement readiness. People with more structured and diversified financial arrangements tend to feel better prepared and those who have retired with these arrangements in place often report better retirement experiences. Importantly, the findings around this theme are not about the value of any one products - but rather how different financial tools come together - or need to - over time to support long-term security.
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Financial dependency remains a defining retirement pressure Many South Africans want retirement to represent independence. They don't want to rely on their children, and they hope their children will not need to rely on them once they retire. However, the lived reality of many retirees is often more complicated. Family responsibilities, adult children, grandchildren and broader household obligations continue to shape how people save for retirement and how they experience retirement once they get there.
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The two-pot system is highlighting the tension between today and tomorrow The two-pot retirement system has become an important part of the retirement conversation in South Africa. Awareness of the system is growing, but withdrawals continue to be driven largely by immediate financial needs such as day-to-day expenses, debt and household purchases. This gives us a useful lens through which to understand the pressure many consumers are facing between meeting today's needs and preserving tomorrow's security.
Together, these themes that have emerged from the 2026 research show that retirement planning in South Africa is not a single decision or a once-off event. It is shaped by behaviour, access to information, product choices, family responsibilities, economic pressure and the quality of advice people receive along the way.
These insights allow us to look beyond the headline numbers and better understand the human realities behind retirement planning. This is important, because the more clearly our industry understands those realities, the better equipped it becomes to help more South Africans prepare for a retirement that is not something they imagine, but also something they can achieve.
