Discovery Invest has announced a set of changes across its retirement annuity range, introducing two new product structures and revisions to an existing offering, as it seeks to address the persistent gap between retirement savings and retirement outcomes in South Africa.
In a media release, the firm said only 10% of South Africans are on track to retire comfortably, citing Financial Sector Conduct Authority data. It attributes this shortfall to a combination of income volatility, financial pressure, inconsistent saving behaviour, and increasingly complex markets – factors that, over time, undermine long-term investment outcomes.
Against that backdrop, the March 2026 product updates introduce the Flexible Recurring Retirement Annuity and the Discovery Retirement Optimiser | Health, while revising the Recurring Retirement Annuity and extending access to selected investment options. Discovery Invest presents these changes as part of a broader framework linking product design to contribution behaviour, investment duration, and eligibility for benefits.
Flexible Recurring Retirement Annuity
The Flexible Recurring Retirement Annuity is designed as a configurable product in which administration fees, advice fees, and contribution-linked enhancements operate within a defined structure.
Administration fees are tiered by fund value, starting at 0.4% a year on the first R2 million and declining through successive bands to 0.05% a year above R6m (all excluding VAT).
The structure combines this fee configuration with term-based contribution boosts. Recurring contributions can attract enhancements of up to 10%, initial lump sums up to 20%, and qualifying additional contributions up to 25%. These enhancements are incorporated into the investment rather than paid out directly.
Boosts are linked to the selected term to retirement, with minimum term requirements applying to qualifying structures. Enhancements apply once the fund value exceeds R75 000 and depend on contributions remaining within defined parameters.
Advisers may commute a portion of future advice fees upfront – up to 10 years on qualifying lump-sum investments of R175 000 or more – subject to a maximum of 2.5% of each contribution being taken upfront, with the balance paid as-and-when.
Discovery Retirement Optimiser | Health
The Discovery Retirement Optimiser | Health operates on a different basis, combining fee reductions and deferred enhancements linked to product integration.
The structure extends the existing Optimiser framework by incorporating eligibility tied to Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) membership, with benefits determined by factors such as Vitality status and qualifying plan type. Clients may be main members or dependants on qualifying plans, excluding KeyCare options, and existing retirement annuities cannot be converted into this product.
The product provides immediate asset management fee discounts of between 60% and 80%, depending on eligibility. It also includes a Fee PayBack mechanism that refunds up to 60% of administration fees at retirement, and a Health Plan Optimiser that provides a lump-sum enhancement at retirement of up to 26%, scaled according to the investor’s DHMS plan series and term to retirement.
The product carries an annual administration fee of 3.1% (excluding VAT), with an annual cost increase of CPI + 3.5% applied to contributions. There are no exit or paid-up fees.
Recurring Retirement Annuity
The existing Recurring Retirement Annuity has been revised, with changes focused on pricing and structure. The administration fee is set at 3.1% a year (excluding VAT) and exit and paid-up fees have been removed.
The product retains term-linked contribution boosts of up to 10% and a fee refund mechanism of up to 60% of administration fees at retirement. As with the other products, the impact of these features depends on maintaining contributions over the selected term and remaining invested to retirement.
Conditions affecting benefits
The product update makes it clear that benefits are subject to defined terms and conditions. Eligibility requirements, contribution thresholds, minimum terms, and ongoing participation in qualifying products can all influence the extent to which benefits apply or are realised.
Investors may need to consult a qualified financial adviser to understand whether the product structures and their conditions are suitable for their individual circumstances.
Click here to download the product update.
