Compound Interest Calculator
Once you have an emergency fund and your debt is under control, investing is how you build real wealth. Here are the main options available to South Africans and what each is best for.
Retirement Annuity (RA)
A retirement annuity gives you a tax deduction on contributions (up to 27.5% of income), grows tax-free, and is ideal for long-term retirement money. The trade-off is that funds are locked until age 55. See our full RA guide.
Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
A TFSA lets you invest up to R36,000/year (R500,000 lifetime) with zero tax on growth or withdrawals. Flexible and powerful for medium to long-term goals.
Try it with your own numbers:
See how investments grow →ETFs and Index Funds
Exchange-traded funds track a market index at very low cost. They are the backbone of most sensible portfolios — diversified, cheap and simple. Ideal inside a TFSA.
Unit Trusts
Actively managed funds run by a manager. More expensive than ETFs, with mixed results on beating the market, but widely available and easy to start.
How to choose
- Want a tax deduction now and saving for retirement? → RA
- Want flexible, tax-free growth? → TFSA with ETFs
- Want simple, low-cost market exposure? → ETFs
- Building wealth long-term? → A combination of all three
Whatever you choose, the key is to start and stay consistent. Model your growth with the compound interest calculator and check your retirement readiness with the retirement calculator.