Expert advice on healthcare, benefits & short-term insurance - talk to us.
4D Employee Benefits provide independent benefit consulting and retirement fund solutions. We deliver uniquely independent employee benefits solutions to our clients – negotiating the best possible risk and retirement solutions to ensure exceptional value for money.
4D Employee Benefits provide independent benefit consulting and retirement fund solutions.
We deliver uniquely independent employee benefits solutions to our clients. Our ability to negotiate the best possible risk & retirement solutions for our clients ensures exceptional value for money.
From medical scheme guidance to actuarial planning, here’s how we help you make sense of your healthcare cover.
Providing independent advice on scheme structuring, tax structuring, member training and compliance.
Developing customised death and disability benefits, by accessing the risk pools with most underwriters and Insurers. We also do product assessment on existing schemes and offer annual re-broking.
We offer asset consulting services surpassing the requirements of PF130 with the top investment managers in South Africa via state-of-the-art Investment Platforms.
Includes financial needs analyses, estate and retirement planning.
There is a fundamental difference between fund management and asset consulting. Asset consulting refers to developing and maintaining an optimal investment strategy, tailored to each client’s specific requirements. This process entails: - Matching the membership profile with an appropriate investment strategy and formalising an official investment strategy document; and - Running annual evaluations by employing sophisticated analyses software and communicating findings such as possible retirement funding shortfalls to both management and members.
The asset consultant also assists in the asset allocation process, by mandating different fund managers on a “Best of Breed” basis.
Until now only significant retirement and institutional funds were able to afford the services of asset consultants due to the complexities and systems involved. However, the continuous development of technology combined with established relationships with top Institutional Investment platforms in South Africa, enabled us to offer professional independent asset consulting services to both standalone pension funds and participating employers on umbrella funds.
Group Risk benefits provide employees and their families with financial protection when they need it most. Our approach goes beyond simply arranging cover -we design and manage risk benefit structures that support your people while remaining sustainable for your business. From death and disability to critical illness, we assess your existing benefits, benchmark them against the market and identify opportunities to improve both value and protection. We then structure a tailored solution around your workforce and business needs, with ongoing reviews and annual re-broking to ensure your benefits remain competitive, relevant and fit for purpose.
A well-designed retirement benefit is more than a financial product - it is an important part of attracting, retaining and rewarding your people. We help businesses manage retirement solutions that align employee needs with their broader business objectives. From reviewing existing arrangements and assessing costs to improving fund structures and member value, we provide ongoing guidance to ensure your retirement benefits remain competitive, efficient and relevant as your business evolves.
Your finances aren’t a business balance sheet – they’re your family, your retirement, the legacy you want to leave behind. That’s why we work with private clients the same way we work with businesses: independently, and with a clear view of the full picture. From financial needs analyses to estate and retirement planning, we help you make sense of your options and build a plan that actually fits your life – not a one-size-fits-all product.
Menlyn Corporate Park, Block C, Second Floor,
Cnr Garsfontein and Corobay Avenue, Waterkloof Glen,
Pretoria, South Africa
Phone : +27 (0)12 991 9627 / +27 (0)12 991 9636
Email: 4D4U@4deb.co.za
Two-pot rules, provident fund withdrawals, medical aid and risk cover, answered in plain English before you need to ask.
Since September 2024, retirement fund contributions have been split into two (in some cases three) components: a savings component, which you can access once per tax year for emergencies (subject to a minimum withdrawal amount and tax), and a retirement component, which is fully preserved and only accessible at retirement. This replaced the old system where resigning or changing jobs let you cash out your full pension - a habit that often left people with little saved by retirement. In practice, it means less flexibility to access your full fund early, but stronger protection of your long-term retirement savings. We can help you understand exactly how your specific contributions are split and what your withdrawal options look like.
4D House holds a Level 2 BBBEE certification. Certificate available on request.
Since September 2024, retirement fund contributions have been split into two (in some cases three) components: a savings component, which you can access once per tax year for emergencies (subject to a minimum withdrawal amount and tax), and a retirement component, which is fully preserved and only accessible at retirement. This replaced the old system where resigning or changing jobs let you cash out your full pension - a habit that often left people with little saved by retirement. In practice, it means less flexibility to access your full fund early, but stronger protection of your long-term retirement savings. We can help you understand exactly how your specific contributions are split and what your withdrawal options look like.
Your tax position shifts as you move through different life and career stages, particularly around retirement. SARS provides an official explainer covering how these changes apply. Read it here
Individual tax rates are updated by SARS each tax year. You can view the current rates and brackets directly on SARS's Rates of tax page
A tax directive is required before a lump sum benefit can be paid out on retirement, retrenchment, or withdrawal. SARS's guide walks through the application process step by step. View the guide here
When you resign, your group risk benefits stop immediately because they are linked to your employer’s policy. Group risk is insurance, not a savings product — similar to medical aid or short‑term cover. This means:
You do not get any money back.
Group risk premiums are paid monthly for protection, not for investment. If no claim was made during the time you were covered, there is no refund to you or to the employer.
Your employer does not get money back either.
The insurer carried the risk for that period. The premiums paid covered that risk, even if no claim occurred.
Once you resign:
Yes - most South African insurers offer a conversion option.
This allows you to take over your group risk benefits in your personal capacity, usually without medical underwriting, as long as you apply within the insurer’s allowed timeframe (typically 31–60 days after leaving your employer).
Your new premium will be based on your personal risk profile, not the group’s.
You can secure cover in one of three ways:
Individual cover is often the best long‑term solution if you want:
This portion follows the old rules. You can access it when you emigrate - but only after SARS confirms that you have ceased tax residency for three consecutive years. Once SARS issues the tax directive, the fund can pay out the vested portion (tax applies).
This portion is not automatically payable on emigration. You may withdraw it once per tax year, but it is taxed at your marginal income tax rate. Emigration does not unlock the full savings pot.
This portion is locked until retirement - even if you emigrate. It must stay invested in South Africa until you reach retirement age (55+), unless you qualify under disability rules.
To access the vested pot on emigration, SARS requires:
Proof you have ceased tax residency, and
A minimum of three years as a non‑resident.
Only after this period can the fund legally pay out the vested portion.
When you emigrate, your retirement savings do not automatically pay out. South Africa’s rules require your money to stay invested until you meet certain conditions. What happens depends on which part of your fund your savings fall into under the two‑pot system.
Option 1: Leave your money invested in the fund
Your savings continue to grow tax‑free until retirement.
Option 2: Transfer to a South African preservation fund
Keeps your money invested and may allow limited withdrawals (depending on pot type).
Option 3: Withdraw the vested portion after 3 years of non‑residency
Tax applies, and only the vested pot is accessible.
Click here for a simple guide on how your retirement savings work when you emigrate.
Employee benefits can be complex – from retirement funds and the two-pot system to medical aid and risk cover. These questions unpack the rules in plain English, so you know exactly where you stand.
When you leave your employer, you cannot take your entire provident fund balance because of South Africa’s two‑pot retirement system, effective from 1 September 2024. This system splits your retirement savings into three parts, and each part has different withdrawal rules.
You can withdraw this portion when you leave your employer. It follows the old provident fund rules. But:
You can withdraw this portion when you leave your employer or once per tax yearas an active member. But:
This portion is locked until retirement (age 55+). You cannot take this money when you leave your employer. It must stay invested or be transferred to another approved fund.
Because the retirement pot is legally protected to ensure you still have money at retirement. Only your vested pot and savings pot are accessible when you leave employment — not the full balance.
This prevents members from cashing out everything early and arriving at retirement with too little saved. (Research consistently shows that repeated resignation withdrawals severely reduce retirement outcomes. )
Option 1: Take cash from your vested pot and/or savings pot
Option 2: Transfer your money to a Preservation Fund
Option 3: Transfer to your new employer’s fund
Click here for a simple guide to how the two‑pot system works and what you can withdraw when leaving your employer.
Insurance advice should feel personal, not procedural. We combine deep industry knowledge with genuine care – so every policy fits the life or business it’s protecting.
