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Research Methods

The aim of the Sanlam Benchmark™ Survey

At Sanlam Employee Benefits we believe that we will only develop a better understanding of the issues impacting retirement funding if we effectively assist employers in the design of their benefit structures.

The annual Sanlam Benchmark™ Survey is one of the most referenced research papers in the retirement fund industry. We have again conducted over 1000 interviews with key stakeholders and this year we have aptly themed the research 'A future worth saving for'.

Our main objective for the research is to provide insights which stimulate conversation, create meaningful opportunities for further engagement with industry stakeholders and ultimately help effect a positive financial outcome in retirement for South Africans.

Survey Benefits

Find out how the Survey can benefit you.

Conducting Research

Read more about how we do our research.

Research Process

Find out what research process we follow.

Survey Benefits

Market research is a formalised means of obtaining information to influence decision-making. Our research seeks to find information to address some of the behavioural challenges and aims to improve the poor savings culture in South Africa.

  • Members are empowered with simple and easy-to-understand information around financial matters
  • Members are able to access information to help improve their understanding and knowledge around retirement matters
  • Members are able to engage more readily with their funds on specific issues
  • Members are able to be more proactive and take accountability of their own retirement needs
  • Members are empowered with information to start retirement planning much sooner with the aid of a personal financial adviser
  • Access to a repository of information and trends specific to retirement funding
  • Accessible information via the web application
  • Sanlam Employee Benefits (SEB) can run data comparisons on specific funds
  • Funds are able to design benefit structures and communication strategies based on the membership needs and issues uncovered in the research
  • Improving the levels of saving for retirement, the industry is also in a position to improve the current savings levels in South Africa
  • Get a deeper level of understanding of all the financial challenges South African households face
  • Gain insights which stimulate conversation and create meaningful opportunities for further engagement with industry stakeholders
  • Draw comparisons between members of different income groups and categories of retirement savings
  • Understand the impact of debt on an individual's ability to plan effectively for retirement

How We Conduct Our Research

Our research takes current economic realities into account and relies on ‘best practice’ diagnostic tools to model solutions for the future benefit of all South African retirees. Every year we observe the financial impact of socio-economic conditions on the living standards of members and retirees.

For this reason our research includes a combination of qualitative and quantitative fieldwork:

  • The 2017 Sanlam Benchmark™ research process began in 2016 by consulting with stakeholders of the retirement funding industry to get a broad view of the issues driving member outcomes.
  • Stakeholders included employers, funds, consultants, media as well as leading experts within Sanlam. Their feedback was consolidated and distilled to a number of key hypotheses to be tested that informed the content of the 2017 Sanlam Benchmark™ research.
  • In particular, we expanded the breadth of the research aimed at individual consumers of financial services to better understand the drivers of financial wellness amongst individuals.
  • We also interviewed employee benefits consultants, as key enablers of better retirement outcomes, to gain an understanding of their views of the changing dynamics of the formal retirement funding sector.

The Sanlam Benchmark™ Survey does not profess to have the answers to the savings and retirement dilemma which faces most South Africans. It does however, provide a tool to ask the right questions and start the debate on how to align benefits provided by funds with the individual needs of members in a highly litigious environment crippled by high levels of unemployment and low savings behaviour.

Our research programme consists of:

  • consumers of financial services.
  • interviews with professionals.
  • focus group discussions.
  • employee benefits fund consultants.
  • standalone funds (incl. 10 union funds).
  • participating employers in umbrella fund

Research Process

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