06 — Instruments

Financial Planning Tools

Interactive · Client-Facing Estimates

A working set of calculators built for real client conversations — the cost of dying, investment growth under different risk profiles, retirement capital needs, and a few everyday planning tools. Every figure below is an editable planning estimate, not tax, legal, or financial advice — confirm current SARS tax tables, Master's Office tariffs, and product-specific terms before using any output with a client.

Cost of Death Calculator

Estimates the full winding-up cost of an estate — executor's fee, Master's fee, CGT on deemed disposal, and estate duty — to show what actually reaches the heirs.

?The total market value of everything the estate owns before any debts, costs, or duty are deducted — property, investments, cash, vehicles, business interests, and life cover paid into the estate.
?All debts the estate must settle before anything is distributed to heirs — bonds, credit agreements, loans, and unpaid accounts.
?The fee an executor charges for winding up the estate. The statutory maximum is 3.5% of the gross estate value (plus 6% of income the estate earns after death), excluding VAT — but it's negotiable and often reduced in a will or fee agreement.
Statutory max is 3.5% of gross value + 6% of income accrued after death, excl. VAT.
?A fee charged by the Master of the High Court for overseeing the administration of the estate. It follows a published sliding scale based on estate value — the auto-estimate gives a rough figure, but always confirm the current tariff.
Auto-estimate from gross value — verify against the current published tariff.
?The portion of an estate exempt from estate duty — currently R3.5 million per person. Any unused abatement can roll over to a surviving spouse, potentially doubling it to R7 million.
R3.5m per person; unused portion rolls over to a surviving spouse.
?The rate SARS charges on the dutiable estate above the abatement — 20% up to R30 million, and 25% on the portion above that.
20% up to R30m dutiable, 25% above.
?The capital gain SARS deems to occur on death, as if all assets were sold on the date of death — after annual exclusions and the primary residence exclusion have already been applied.
Deemed disposal gain, after annual/primary residence exclusions.
?The percentage of the capital gain that actually gets taxed. For individuals (and deceased estates) this is currently 40% — the rest of the gain isn't taxed at all.
?The tax rate applied to the taxable portion of the capital gain — typically the deceased's marginal income tax rate, up to a maximum of 45%.
?Everything else it costs to wind up an estate — funeral costs, advertising for creditors, asset valuations, bank charges, and general administration.
Funeral, advertising, valuations, bank & admin costs.
Estate Winding-Up Summary
Net Estate to HeirsR0
Executor's Fee (excl. VAT)R0
VAT on Executor's Fee (15%)R0
Master's Office FeeR0
Estate DutyR0
CGT Payable at DeathR0
Other Winding-Up CostsR0
Liabilities SettledR0
Total Cost of DeathR0
Master's fees, estate duty thresholds, and CGT inclusion rates change periodically. This tool is for illustrative FNA and CFP® exam-style planning purposes only — always confirm current figures with the Master's Office and SARS, and this is not a substitute for a professional estate calculation or legal advice.

Investment Growth Projector

Projects lump sum and recurring contributions forward, with the assumed growth rate driven by risk profile.

?A once-off amount invested on day one, before any monthly contributions begin growing alongside it.
?The amount contributed every month for the full term of the investment, in addition to the lump sum.
?How much the monthly contribution increases each year — useful for modelling contributions that rise with salary or inflation over time.
?How many years the money stays invested before this projection ends.
?A shorthand for how much equity exposure the portfolio has. It auto-fills a typical long-term growth rate below, which you can then adjust to match the actual fund or portfolio being used.
?The annual growth rate assumed before fees — auto-filled by risk profile, but fully editable if you have a more specific return assumption in mind.
?The ongoing cost of the portfolio — fund management fees, platform fees, and advice fees combined. This is deducted from the growth rate before compounding, so it directly reduces the projected outcome.
?The assumed long-term inflation rate, used to convert the nominal projected value into today's purchasing power.
?Runs a simplified simulation using typical long-term return and volatility assumptions for common ASISA multi-asset fund categories, so the client's own assumptions can be compared against a broad market benchmark.
Conservative ≈ 7% · Moderate ≈ 9% · Aggressive ≈ 11% — selecting a profile fills the growth rate, which stays fully editable.
Projection Summary — Nominal (Future Rand) Terms
Projected Value at End of TermR0
Total Contributions (incl. lump sum)R0
Total Investment GrowthR0
Value in Today's Money (real terms)R0
Growth rates are planning assumptions, not guarantees — actual returns will vary. This projection ignores tax on the investment vehicle (e.g. CGT, dividends withholding tax) unless built into the net growth rate manually. Benchmark return and volatility assumptions are illustrative long-run averages for ASISA fund categories — confirm against actual fund fact sheets before client use.

Retirement Needs Calculator

Works out the capital required at retirement to sustain an income for life, and what additional saving is needed to get there.

?The client's age today — used to work out how many years remain until retirement.
?The age the client plans to stop working and start drawing an income from their retirement savings.
?How long the client's retirement income needs to last. A conservative planning assumption (e.g. 90 or later) helps guard against outliving the money.
?The client's current gross annual income — used as the base for working out how much income they'll need to replace at retirement.
?The percentage of current income the client will actually need in retirement. Often lower than 100%, since costs like a home loan, retirement contributions, and dependants' expenses tend to fall away.
?The total value of retirement savings already accumulated today — retirement annuities, pension or provident fund values, preservation funds, and similar.
?Any additional amount currently being saved toward retirement each month, on top of the current lump sum, that will keep growing until retirement.
?The assumed annual investment growth rate before fees, applied to savings and contributions while the client is still working and saving.
?The assumed annual investment growth rate before fees, applied to the remaining capital once the client has retired and started drawing an income.
?The ongoing cost of the retirement portfolio — fund, platform, and advice fees combined. Deducted from both the pre- and post-retirement growth rates before compounding.
?The assumed long-term inflation rate — used to grow the required income over time and to express the retirement capital target in real terms.
Retirement Capital Summary — Future Rand at Retirement
Capital Required at RetirementR0
Projected Capital on Current PathR0
Shortfall / SurplusR0
Additional Monthly Saving NeededR0
Uses a real (inflation-adjusted) rate of return in retirement and assumes drawdown over the full life expectancy — actual living annuity drawdown rules (2.5%–17.5%) and longevity risk should be discussed separately.

Life Cover Needs Analysis

A simplified needs-based approach: what should be settled or replaced, less what's already available.

?Any debt that should be settled immediately on death so dependants aren't left carrying it — typically the home loan, vehicle finance, and other credit.
?The household's current annual living expenses that would need to be replaced by the payout if the main income earner were no longer there.
?How many years of income replacement to plan for — often until children are financially independent or a surviving spouse reaches retirement age.
?The estimated future cost of school and tertiary education for any children, in today's or future terms.
?The immediate cash needed on death — funeral costs, and an allowance for basic estate administration and winding-up costs.
?Any life cover already in place — through a group scheme at work, a standalone policy, or bond-linked cover.
?Liquid savings and investments that could be accessed immediately without needing to be sold under pressure — separate from retirement funds, which are usually not accessible this way.
Life Cover Needs Summary
Additional Cover NeededR0
Total NeedR0
Total Available ResourcesR0
This is a simplified needs-multiple approach, not a full Human Life Value or discounted cash-flow calculation — useful for a first conversation, not a final product recommendation.

Net Worth Calculator

A quick snapshot of assets versus liabilities.

?Money held in bank accounts, money market funds, and similar readily accessible cash.
?The current value of retirement annuities, preservation funds, unit trusts, direct shares, and tax-free savings accounts.
?The current estimated market value of any property owned, including a primary residence.
?The current estimated resale value of any vehicles owned.
?Anything else of meaningful value not captured above — jewellery, collectables, business interests, and so on.
?The outstanding balance owed on a home loan or bond.
?The outstanding balance owed on vehicle finance agreements.
?Any other outstanding debt — credit cards, store accounts, personal loans, and similar.
Net Worth Summary
Net WorthR0
Total AssetsR0
Total LiabilitiesR0

Emergency Fund Calculator

How big the buffer should be, and how long it will take to build.

?The monthly cost of essential expenses only — rent or bond, groceries, utilities, insurance, and debt repayments. Excludes discretionary spending.
?How many months of essential expenses the fund should cover. Three to six months is a common starting point, more for irregular or commission-based income.
?How much has already been set aside specifically as an emergency fund today.
?How many months to allow for building up any shortfall to the target.
Emergency Fund Summary
Target Emergency FundR0
Current SavingsR0
Shortfall / SurplusR0
Suggested Monthly SavingR0

Debt Payoff Calculator

How long a debt will take to clear at a given payment, and the total interest cost.

?The amount currently owed on this debt.
?The annual interest rate charged on the debt.
?The fixed amount being paid toward this debt every month.
Debt Payoff Summary
Time to Pay Off—
Total Interest PaidR0
Total RepaidR0