The Retirement Lie South Africans Are Still Being Told — And the Calculator That Finally Exposes It

The Retirement Lie

• If only I… knew what I know now. IF Only I Learned More. If Only I ......

The Retirement Lie No One Talks About (Until It’s Too Late)

Let me explain something that might surprise you…

You’ve probably been told this before:

“Start early. Save consistently. You’ll retire comfortably.”

That’s the traditional advice. The stuff printed in brochures and whispered by HR teams at induction.

But here’s the truth most people never hear:

That plan doesn’t work for most people anymore.

This plan may work in a perfect world but live happens and if you go to my retirement workshop you will see why I say so.

The Big Lie We’ve All Been Sold

The financial system has spent decades pushing the idea that saving a small percentage of your income is enough.

Just tuck away 10% and everything will be fine, right?

Wrong.

I’ve been a financial advisor for over 25 years.

I’ve sat across the table from hundreds of people who did everything “right” — and still found themselves panicking as retirement approached.

Why?

Because the system trained them to save — but never taught them how to grow.

Inflation is a savings killer and I have only seen a handful of disciplined individuals who saved themselves to financial freedom. Just make the effort and calculate how much you saved and calculate the growth and the make a study of inflation.

What They Never Told You About Retirement

You don’t need to be rich — you need to be smart.

If you’re only focused on how much you’re saving, but you’re ignoring how fast your money is growing, you’re flying blind.

That’s the part most retirement calculators get wrong.

They spit out a lump sum target without telling you how to get there.

No wonder people give up or delay planning — it all feels like guesswork.

Buying insurance savings products seems like the easiest option but it is only for a very small number of people with very good dicipline, good or sometimes lucky fund choices and who never gets wiped out or sideswiped by real life situations.

If only I took the time to understand the numbers!

This Calculator Changes That

So I built a calculator that flips the script.

It doesn’t just tell you how much you need to save.

It tells you the growth rate your investments must achieve if you want to reach your financial freedom goal.

That’s right.

This one tool proves two things — with brutal honesty:

• You’re likely not saving enough

• Your money likely isn’t growing fast enough

And once you see those numbers? It will broaden your options. There is a saying work now or play later or play now and work later and in my line of work I often hear the words "if I only done this or that when I was younger.

The Insight That Changed Everything For Me

Years ago, I met a teacher who introduced me to a concept I had never heard from any other advisor.

He said, “The growth rate you need is the most important number in your retirement plan.”

Link To My Teacher

It clicked.

This wasn’t about chasing high returns — it was about being realistic, strategic, and intentional with your capital.

That’s when I created Income from Capital — my personal framework for helping clients build income they can actually live on.

Focus on creating income streams instead of building capital. This is easier said than done. Robert Kiyosaki who is now comming to South Africa said that at some stage in your life you will work for yourself. That involves making mistakes and if you think about it do you want to meke the mistakes now or in retirement. A lot is to be said on this topic but to sum it up. Desperate people make desperate decisions and that is why people in or close to retirement opt for high risk investments.

You Don’t Need More Stress — You Need More Clarity

The Retirement Calculator is free to use.

Just pop in your numbers, and you’ll get a growth rate target, a capital goal, and a wake-up call.

It’s not designed to scare you — it’s designed to free you.

[Try the Retirement Calculator Now]

And if I can save you even one year of stress or bad decisions… it’s worth it.

Ready to Take Control?

Once you’ve used the calculator, I’d love to help you interpret the results.

Let’s make sure your retirement isn’t built on hope — but on a strategy that actually works.

Perfect, Albert — here’s your final Q&A section, formatted and ready to drop directly into your blog post about The Retirement Lie. This version is styled for clarity, SEO, and flow within your existing blog.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What makes this retirement calculator different from others?

Most calculators give you a rough savings target based on general assumptions.

This one goes deeper — it tells you two things most tools ignore:

• Are you saving enough?

• Is your money growing fast enough to reach your goal?

It’s one of the only calculators that reveals your required growth rate — a key metric in building real financial freedom.

2. Why is knowing my required growth rate so important?

Because saving alone isn’t enough anymore.

If your investments aren’t growing at the right pace, even the best savings habits won’t get you to retirement.

This calculator gives you a realistic target, not a guess — and that’s how you plan with confidence.

3. Is the calculator limited to any specific country or currency?

Not at all.

The calculator works in any currency, and the principles apply worldwide.

Whether you’re saving in dollars, euros, pounds, or rand — what matters is your capital, your timeline, and your goal.

4. What’s a good growth rate to aim for in my retirement planning?

That depends on your personal situation.

Some people might need 8% per year. Others may need 12%.

This calculator tells you exactly what you need, based on your current savings and your retirement goal. No guessing. Just clarity.

5. Can I still retire if I started saving late?

Yes — but you need to be smarter with your strategy.

That might mean saving more, investing better, or working a bit longer.

The calculator helps you model those decisions so you can take control and move forward with a clear plan.

6. Do you think there’s a secret in these retirement calculations?

Yes — and I’ll tell you exactly what it is.

The secret is in the growth rate — not just the amount you save.

There are three components:

1. The money you’re saving

2. The goal you want to reach

3. And the growth rate in between

Most people focus on saving more. But without the right growth rate, you’ll never hit your goal.

That’s the part no one’s talking about — and it’s exactly what this calculator reveals.



Try Our Retirement Calculator

Albert Schuurman

I created the content using AI to assist me. I also used AI to assist me in building complicated calculators. I have compared mine with two calculators and my figures are close. The assumtions and methods of calculating interest is complicated and decided on the ones that is live right now. You have to do the Retirement calculator first and the use the Goal Rate calculator to get an understanding of what type of growth you need to get. I am going to start an online business using AI and my personal goal is to apply what I have learned from being a student.

If you think the figures are scary think of how scary running out of money in retirement is going to be

Growth Calculator