The retirement funds industry has also taken a knock over the pandemic. To attain a comprehensive perspective on those impacts, this year’s survey was expanded to include asset consultants, healthcare consultants, umbrella fund sponsors and retirement fund members to those surveyed.

“We wanted to more deeply reflect the views and experiences of all stakeholders as we take stock of these past two very unusual years,” explained Kanyisa Mkhize, Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam Corporate.

Kanyisa Mkhize

The Survey’s findings have been revealing, said Mkhize. “The full impact of the COVID-19 fallout has become pervasive through our sector and has affected our members profoundly. And not just financially.”

A thread that runs through the Survey is the critical place that the theme of care has taken, she added. “COVID was not only a painful reminder of how fragile all our lives are, but also how we cannot take our jobs and mental health for granted. Overnight many more of us realised what holistic health really meant, and why it matters.”

Taking cognisance of these concerns, this year’s research will examine how the industry needs to evolve in line with this newfound emphasis, added Mkhize. Among the questions the Survey will answer are, what’s next, and what should employee benefits look like in the post-pandemic world?

Mkhize continued, “We’ll also look at the industry’s agility in responding to new or different demands for employee benefits and asked, how are we adjusting to new ways of work, new ways of living life and, with new perspectives on life, what is important to us?”

This year’s Benchmark Survey has, as it does every year, set out to capture the burning issues facing retirement funds, current clients and retirees in the country, said Mkhize.

“Since 1981, the Benchmark research has provided insights and created meaningful opportunities for engagement with industry stakeholders with the goal being to help effect a positive financial outcome in retirement for South Africans. The context in which we operate has shifted due to the pandemic and other external factors, but the core long-term needs of members, employers and funds remain largely unchanged.”

As a leading provider of employee benefits and umbrella fund solutions, Sanlam Corporate’s goal is to make a real difference in retirement fund members’ lives. As one of the most referenced research papers in the retirement fund industry, the annual Benchmark Survey is one of many initiatives aimed at empowering South Africans to live, invest and ultimately retire with confidence.

*Source: Income Dynamics Study Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey.