First, head on over to the portfolio overview of your EasyRA wallet, where you’ll be able to see the available balance of your savings pot in the “Your Funds to Invest” section.

Just underneath your “Savings Pot Available Balance”, select “Withdraw Money”.

On the “Withdraw” page, you’ll be shown two sets of balances:

• The “Savings Pot Available Balance” will let you know the total value accessible to you.
•  “Uninvested Funds” will let you know the balance that is immediately available for you to withdraw (i.e. uninvested and sitting as free cash)

If you would like to withdraw more than the amount displayed as “Uninvested Funds”, you must first sell out of positions to the value you wish to withdraw.

Once you have sold out of your investments, repeat steps 1 and 2, then specify your desired withdrawal amount in the space provided.

If your tax details have not been captured on your profile, provide your tax number under “Your Tax Details”.

Under the “Transaction  Summary”, you’re given the option of selecting your income bracket if you would like to have an estimate of how much tax you will pay, and how much you will receive after tax has been deducted (* Please note this is just an estimate: SARS will provide us with a tax directive to specify the amount we will be required to pay over to them before we can release your funds to your ZAR wallet.)

Click “Withdraw”.

Important Information:

Withdrawals from your savings pot cannot be cancelled or reversed once you’ve submitted your request, so please be 100% sure you wish to withdraw before completing your submission.

To withdraw your funds once they’ve cleared into your ZAR wallet, you must have verified banking details (in your name) on your profile.

You must also ensure your tax details have been captured on your profile.

We cannot process withdrawals without a directive from SARS, so if your tax details are incorrect on your profile (or you do not provide the correct tax number during your withdrawal request), SARS will decline and not provide us with one. (If you do not have a tax number, you will need to provide a valid reason as to why.)

How much tax will I pay on my savings pot withdrawal?

You will be taxed at your own marginal tax rate. Your own tax liability will affect the calculation, but it is important to note that these withdrawals count as income. Depending on your situation, the withdrawal could push you into a higher tax bracket, potentially resulting in greater-than-expected deductions. Consider discussing this with a registered tax practitioner beforehand to avoid any nasty surprises.

* EasyEquities will act on the directive from SARS for the total tax amount to withhold as part of your savings pot withdrawal. As per the directive we receive from SARS, if you have any outstanding tax obligations, this will first be deducted from your savings pot withdrawal and paid across to SARS on your behalf.

Are there any fees associated with withdrawing from my Savings Pot?

Yes, there is an admin fee of 50bps + VAT of the withdrawal value.

 For example, a R20 000 withdrawal will cost R100 (admin fee) + R15 VAT = R115 in total.

How long will the funds take to reflect in my bank account?

Provided there are no issues with SARS, withdrawals from your savings pot to your ZAR wallet will take 3-5 business days to process. Once we have released your funds and you have requested the withdrawal from your ZAR wallet, the time it takes for the funds to reflect in your account depends on the receiving bank’s processing times.

Can I request more than one withdrawal from my savings pot in a tax year?

You can only withdraw from your savings pot once every tax year. If you’ve already requested a withdrawal during the tax year, the next available withdrawal date will be shown to you next to “Withdraw Money” on your EasyRA account overview page.

Learn more about the new Two-Pot System here.