Retirement annuity calculator
A retirement annuity calculator for South Africa built around the number that actually decides it: the tax you get back. It works out your section 11F allowance, what part of your contribution is deductible, the refund on the real tax brackets rather than a flat marginal rate, and what the fund grows to.
Retirement annuity calculator
SARS figures for the 2026/27 tax year (1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027), checked 2026-09-11. The growth inside an RA carries no dividends tax, no tax on interest and no capital gains tax, so nothing is deducted here for those.
What a retirement annuity actually costs you
An RA contribution is deductible, so the money never gets taxed on the way in. That is the whole argument for using one, and it means the sticker price is not the real price. Someone on a 36% marginal rate putting away R3 000 a month is not really spending R36 000 a year. After the refund it is closer to R23 000, and the full R36 000 is invested either way.
The refund here is worked out the way SARS works it out: the tax owed on your income, then the tax owed on your income less the deduction, and the difference between them. Most calculators multiply the contribution by your marginal rate instead. That is wrong in a predictable direction. The deduction pulls your income down through the brackets, so the last rand deducted is saved at a lower rate than the first. At R700 000 of income and a full allowance you cross two bands, and the flat rate shortcut overstates the refund by a meaningful amount.
The limits, and what happens when you pass them
Section 11F allows 27.5% of the greater of your remuneration or taxable income, capped at R430 000 a year. That cap moved this tax year, up from R350 000, and it was the first change since 2016. The percentage binds for most people; the rand cap only starts binding above roughly R1.56 million of income.
Contributing over the allowance is not a penalty. The excess carries forward to the next year and is deducted then, and anything still unused at retirement reduces the tax on your lump sum. That is worth saying plainly because it is the opposite of how a tax free savings account behaves, where going over the annual limit triggers a real 40% charge on the excess.
What this page does not do is model your retirement. The fund value at the end is just that: a fund value. At retirement you may commute up to a third as a lump sum, taxed on the retirement lump sum table where the first R550 000 is free, and the balance has to buy an annuity whose income is taxed as income. For the drawdown half of the decision, and whether the income lasts, use the retirement calculator.
All SARS figures on this page are for the 2026/27 tax year (1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027) and were checked on 2026-09-11. This is general information, not a tax opinion, and your own position can differ.
Questions
How much can I contribute to a retirement annuity and still get the deduction?
Section 11F allows 27.5% of the greater of your remuneration or your taxable income, capped at R430 000 a year, and limited to your taxable income before any capital gain. The rand cap moved to R430 000 for the 2026/27 tax year, up from R350 000, its first change since 2016. Anything still quoting R350 000 for this year is out of date, including one of SARS's own FAQ pages, which was last revised in 2021.
What happens if I contribute more than the limit?
Nothing bad, and nothing is lost. The excess is carried forward to the next year of assessment, where it is added to that year’s contributions and deducted if there is room. If it is still unused when you retire, it reduces the tax on your lump sum and on the annuity income. So over-contributing defers the benefit rather than destroying it, which is quite different from breaching a tax free savings limit, where the penalty is a real 40% charge.
Why is my refund less than my marginal rate?
Because the deduction lowers your taxable income, and as it does, it passes down through the brackets. The last rand you deduct is only saved at whatever rate applies once your income has already fallen. Someone earning R700 000 who contributes the full allowance crosses two brackets on the way down, so multiplying the contribution by their top rate overstates the refund. This calculator works out the tax owed with and without the contribution and takes the difference, which is what SARS will actually do.
Is a retirement annuity better than a tax free savings account?
They do different jobs. An RA gives you a deduction now and taxes the income later; a TFSA gives no deduction but everything comes out tax free. An RA also locks the money until 55 and is bound by Regulation 28, which limits how much equity and offshore exposure it can hold. A TFSA has no lock and no asset limits, but a much smaller annual allowance. For most people on a decent marginal rate the RA deduction is the larger single benefit, and the two are usually run alongside each other rather than chosen between.
Does this show what I get at retirement?
It shows what the fund grows to. It does not model what happens when you retire, which is its own calculation: you may take up to a third as a lump sum, taxed on the retirement lump sum table where the first R550 000 is free, and the rest must buy an annuity whose income is taxed as income. The retirement calculator on this site covers the drawdown side.
TradeIntel is an information publisher, not a licensed financial services provider. This calculator shows what the assumptions you entered produce. It is general information, not financial advice, and the return figure is your assumption, not ours. Nothing on this page is a forecast.