Discovery Invest targets retirement shortfall with new pre-retirement solutions

Only 10% of South Africans are on track to retire comfortably, reflecting an industry-wide challenge where every day financial pressures, income volatility, poor saving behaviours and increasingly complex markets undermine long-term retirement saving during investors’ working lives.

Across the retirement industry, it is widely understood that outcomes are shaped less by a single decision and more by whether people can save enough, remain invested over time and use appropriate retirement structures consistently.

“We have put significant focus into understanding what truly drives long-term retirement outcomes,” says Discovery Invest CEO, Kenny Rabson. “When these series of interrelated choices made over decades are aligned, outcomes improve meaningfully. When they are not, the impact compounds. This has placed greater importance on solutions that help investors maintain discipline, manage complexity and sustain income for life.”

Against this backdrop, Discovery Invest has extended its successful retirement offering with two new recurring retirement annuity products, aimed at maximising retirement outcomes:

The newly launched Discovery Retirement Optimiser | Health, and the Flexible Recurring Retirement Annuity support strengthened retirement outcomes during the accumulation phase. These solutions offer outstanding value to clients while both still providing for the cost of valuable upfront advice from financial advisers.

The Discovery Retirement Optimiser | Health extends Discovery Invest’s Optimiser technology to clients with qualifying Discovery Health Medical Scheme plans. This integrated solution offers immediate asset management fee discounts of 60% to 80% depending on Vitality status, long-term admin fee refunds of up to 60%, a Health Plan Optimiser lump-sum enhancement of up to 26%, and full flexibility with no exit fees. The solution is designed to help investors stay on track throughout their working lives with these powerful and unique enhancements to their retirement savings.

The Flexible Recurring Retirement Annuity introduces a structural breakthrough, combining a low-cost fee model, recurring contribution boosts of up to 10%, initial lump-sum contribution boosts of up to 20%, all with no exit fees. This solution is built for short-term flexibility and control while still incorporating rewards for long-term savings.

These new additions complement the existing Discovery Retirement Optimiser and Recurring Retirement Annuity offerings, resulting in a comprehensive range that allows advisers to confidently match the right solution to the right client, while supporting sustainable long-term retirement outcomes.

“Achieving strong retirement outcomes is not straightforward, and the margin for error is small,” Rabson concludes. “That’s why well-designed solutions and trusted advice are more important than ever – helping investors navigate complexity, stay invested and retire with greater financial security.”