Budget 2016: Nutshell Edition

In a nutshell:

Personal Income Tax:

• The tax brackets, tax rebates and medical scheme fees tax credits will be adjusted for inflation 

Business Tax:

• The company tax rate remains unchanged at 28% 

Retirement funds:

• The annuitisation of the retirement funds will be postponed for 2 years in order to give time for further discussion 

Other:

• No change in the VAT rate 
• The capital gains tax inclusion rates for individuals, special trusts and insurer’s individual policyholder funds increases from 33.3% to 40% and for other taxpayers from 66.6% to 80% 
• A new transfer duty bracket for properties over R10mil is introduced 
• The general fuel levy will increase by 30c per litre “Sin Taxes” increases by between 6.7% and 8.5% on alcoholic beverages 
• The plastic bag levy will increase by 2c per bag 
• A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages will be introduced on 1 April 2017 

Click Here to view the Full 2016 Budget

Discovery Life

With 5 days left of the CoverBooster special offer, make sure you get 32% additional life cover, at no extra cost! 

Clients who qualify will receive 32% extra life cover for three years, at no additional premium. After the three-year period, clients can buy this additional cover at a discount of up to 15%, based on their Vitality status during the three years.

Get real value for money with 32% extra life cover at no additional premium.

Speak to me today! Offer ends 28 February 2016.

Regards,

Tersia van Nieuwenhuizen
Independent Contractor to Discovery Life
Direct: +27 21 975 3199
Fax: +27 21 975 3995
Email: tersiav@ic.discovery.co.za
URL: www.discovery.co.za

Discovery Insure Update

Say hello to Scooter Angels, your clients’ designated driver 

In addition to RoadTrip and Uber, Discovery Insure is proud to introduce Scooter Angels as our new DriveMe partner from 8 February 2016. Scooter Angels is your clients’ designated driver home after a night out. They will fetch your clients at their location and drive them home in the comfort of their own vehicle.

How Scooter Angels works

Clients who want to use Scooter Angels can easily contact them. They will arrive at your clients’ location using their own transport and drive them home in the comfort of their own vehicle.

Your clients get their Classic Plan membership with Scooter Angels for free

Clients can take advantage of our exclusive Discovery Insure package and enjoy free monthly membership on the Classic Plan with Scooter Angels – a package that would normally cost R199 a month. They also pay reduced rates for every kilometre and will be able to use this service all year round.

Here are some reasons why your clients need to use Scooter Angels:
They can book a trip for their guests through their account if the guests are picked up from their home
The minimum trip distance is only 5 km
Clients can pay cash or charge trips to their account
They will not pay a pick-up fee and non-members pay only R99 for this service
Clients won’t pay a passenger drop-off fees and non-members pay only R50 for this service
No fixed-term contracts
Trips are R12.20 for every kilometre.

Encourage your clients to sign up to win

The first 100 Discovery Insure clients to sign up to Scooter Angels will get their first trip of up to 15 km for free. This free trip is only valid in February 2016, so urge your clients to sign up today.

Scooter Angels are available to get your clients home safely in the following areas:
Bloemfontein
Cape Town
Durban
East London
George
Johannesburg
Nelspruit
Pietermaritzburg
Port Elizabeth
Pretoria

Clients can call on Scooter Angels for their safe ride home.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR A COMPARATIVE QUOTE WITH DISCOVERY INSURE, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT US AT 021 975 3199 OR SEND AN E-MAIL TO SONJAJO@IC.DISCOVERY.CO.ZA.

LOOKING FORWARD TO BE OF ASSISTANCE.

Discovery Insure

Dear Valued Client Make sure you are adequately covered, given the weakening rand In 2015, the rand depreciated by 34% against the US dollar and is showing no sign of recovery yet. This has a significant impact on the cost of imported goods. Some examples that we have found: Household contents: Item Cost Price in January 2016 Price increase Samsung 660 litre side-by-side fridge/freezer R10 800 (in June 2014) R14 000 Almost 30% over 19 months Portable possessions: Item Cost Price in January 2016  Price increase Citizen Eco-Drive dress watch R3 950 (in April 2015) R6 060 Over 50% over 9 months Nikon D7100 Camera R10 400 (in October 2014) R19 900 Over 90% over 16 months

Given these circumstances, you may be underinsured if you have not recently update your cover.

Avoid underinsurance by getting your cover updated

Your household contents need to be insured for the total replacement value or average may apply at claims stage. For example, if the correct replacement value of your household contents is R600 000 and you have insured it for R300 000 and have a loss of R100 000, you will only be compensated for 50% (R300 000 / R600 000) of your loss (or R50 000).

You can request an asset inventory tool from our office to assist you determining the correct value (also available on www.discovery.co.za). Alternatively you can request an asset inventory to be completed at your premises.

You should also re-examine your portable possessions cover, specifically your specified items. Given the currency depreciation, it is highly likely that jewellery and watch items have become underinsured. We encourage you to update your valuation certificates and sums insured to prevent underinsurance.

If you have any questions, or would like assistance with a quote, please do not hesitate to call my office on 021 975 3199.

Regards,

Tersia van Nieuwenhuizen
Independent Contractor to Discovery Life
Direct: +27 21 975 3199
Fax: +27 21 975 3995
Email: tersiav@ic.discovery.co.za
URL: www.discovery.co.za

An authorised financial services provider - FSP No. 18147

Discovery Life update

Introducing the R12/$1 Life Plan Limited Offer! 

If your clients buy a Dollar Life Plan policy before 31 March 2016, they can get a guaranteed exchange rate of R12/$1 on their premium for the next three years! 

In November 2014, Discovery Life launched the Dollar Life Plan, a first-to-market offshore life insurance policy that offers clients comprehensive risk protection in US dollars. With the Dollar Life Plan, clients can be sure that their risk protection will remain relevant in the long term, regardless of their changing lifestyle needs. 

Why offshore life insurance makes sense: 

1. Sound long-term financial planning 

With an offshore life insurance policy, denominated in US dollars, clients are protected against the financial impact of a life-changing event – no matter where they may find themselves in the future. 

2. Matching liabilities 

Many clients either have, or could in the future have, offshore liabilities such as a bond, children’s education costs or estate duty in a foreign country. Clients may also be impacted by a fluctuating rand, which typically results in an increase in the cost of goods and services available locally. Risk protection denominated in dollars is therefore critical to ensure that a client’s liabilities are fully matched. 

3. Diversification 

Discovery Life provides an efficient vehicle for clients to supplement and diversify their retirement savings into offshore markets by allowing them to convert their future health and wellness into a tangible offshore financial asset. Clients can further supplement their retirement savings in dollars through three unique features: 

The Dollar PayBack Fund – provides clients with an upfront Dollar fund of up to 500 times their initial monthly life cover premium. 

The Buy-up Cash Conversion benefit – provides clients with a high yielding product that can help to supplement their retirement savings at age 65 through a lump-sum dollar payment. 

The Dollar Retirement Optimiser – allows clients to convert any unused life cover to supplement their retirement savings in dollars, at age 65. 

4. Increased accessibility 

The minimum premium on the Dollar Life Plan has been reduced to $50 per month. This allows more clients to access the benefits of an offshore life insurance policy. 

Your clients can increase the value of their rand with future certainty! 

For a limited time only, your clients will be able to pay the premiums on a new Dollar Life Plan at a substantially lower exchange rate than the market. Clients will charged a premium based on a maximum exchange of R12/$1 for the first three years of their policy. This is provided that the exchange rate remains less than R20/$1 

And if the exchange rate is higher than (or equal to) R20/$1, clients will be charged a premium based on an exchange rate that is 20% less than the rest of the market. 

Make sure that your clients take advantage of this special offer to ensure that their life insurance remains relevant, not matter where life takes them! For more information, refer to this brochure and limited offer technical document. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT 021 975 3199 OR E-MAIL tersiav@ic.discovery.co.za

Catch all the Oscars action for less with Vitality

It’s Oscar season, and what better way to ease into a new year and spend time with loved ones than to sit back and enjoy a thrilling or heart-warming cinema experience? Our hugely popular Vitality movie benefit brings you the latest 2D or 3D blockbusters, art house movies, IMAX and Cine Prestige movies at discounted prices.

Vitality members with children older than two and younger than 18 years can complete a Kids Vitality Health Review for their kids to catch movies before 7pm for free.

Signing up is easy.

Step 1: Activate the Vitality Ster-Kinekor movie benefit

Go to a Ster-Kinekor cinema with your Discovery membership card and ID

Complete an application form

OR
Activate your benefit on www.sterkinekor.com
Fill in all required fields and enter your Discovery membership number

Step 2: Choose a card option

Movie card
Pay a once-off R41 fee online or at the cinema for you and each dependant who wants a physical movie card.
You must show your Vitality Ster-Kinekor membership card when you make a booking

Vitality Ster-Kinekor Digital card
There is no fee to get this Digital Card, stored on the Passbook app of your iPhone or in your Discovery app on your Android smartphone.
Download the Discovery app onto your iPhone or Android smartphone.
Register or log into the Discovery app and select the ‘Draw Nav’.
Select ‘Digital cards’ and accept the terms and conditions to view available passes.
Add a ‘Profile image’ to your Digital Card.
Use your Vitality Ster-Kinekor Digital Card number, on your Passbook app for iPhone users or your Discovery app for Android users, to make a booking.
All Vitality Ster-Kinekor card numbers for you and your family members will be added to your Digital Card, so you can book movies for everyone on your Vitality policy who has an active Vitality Ster-Kinekor movie benefit.

It’s as simple as that!

Then book a night out to catch some of these stellar movies!
Zootropolis
Deadpool
Kung Fu Panda 3
Norm of the North

So whether you want to take your spouse out for a cosy date night, or treat the kids to a riveting animation, you can head over to Ster-Kinekor and watch the best for less with Vitality. Activate your movie benefit today!

How are you getting on with your #VitalityActiveReward ?

Get Active

GET REWARDED

Activate Vitality Active Rewards and get a personalised fitness goal. Then earn weekly rewards, like a free drink at Vida e Caffé or Kauai, for achieving your goal. You can earn another reward if two or more of your friends also reach their fitness goals.