Sanlam processed R2.3 billion in two pot savings withdrawals in the months after the system launched on 1 September 2024. That figure puts it among the top five administrators by rand value in the country, behind only government funds and Alexander Forbes. If your retirement savings sit with Sanlam, whether through a workplace pension fund, a provident fund, or a retirement annuity, the Sanlam two pot system rules are the same as every other South African fund by law, but the platform, the verification process, and a few specific rules are Sanlam’s own. Knowing them in advance saves you from surprises when you submit your claim.
This article covers how your savings are structured under the Sanlam two pot system, exactly how to submit a withdrawal, what the minimum balance requirements are, how SARS taxes your payout, what Sanlam’s bank account verification process means for you, and the mistakes that cause delays or reduce your net payment. Sanlam operates across multiple product lines, including Sanlam Corporate for employer-linked funds and Sanlam Retirement for individual products, and the access process differs slightly between them.
How Your Retirement Savings Are Structured Under Sanlam
Every Sanlam member whose savings sit in a pension fund, provident fund, preservation fund, or retirement annuity now has three components: the vested pot, the savings pot (which Sanlam also refers to as the “emergency savings pot” in some of its communications), and the retirement pot.
The vested pot holds everything you accumulated before 1 September 2024, including all contributions and investment growth up to that date. No new contributions flow into this pot from 1 September 2024 onwards, but the balance continues to earn investment returns. The vested pot follows the pre-September 2024 rules for your fund type: accessible on resignation, retrenchment, or retirement, subject to the tax tables that apply to those events.
The savings pot receives one-third of every new contribution made from 1 September 2024 onwards. You can make one withdrawal from it per tax year, subject to meeting the minimum balance requirements. On 1 September 2024, Sanlam seeded your savings pot with the lesser of 10% of your vested pot value or R30,000. If your vested pot held R120,000 on 31 August 2024, your savings pot started at R12,000. If it held R400,000, you started with R30,000.
The retirement pot receives two-thirds of every new contribution and cannot be accessed before retirement under any circumstances. At retirement, the full retirement pot balance must be used to purchase a retirement income product. Sanlam’s Glacier investment platform and their various annuity products are the typical home for these funds at retirement.
One exception worth knowing: if you were a provident fund member aged 55 or older on 1 March 2021 and still belong to the same provident fund, the two pot system does not automatically apply to you. You had the option to opt in to the system, with a deadline of 31 August 2025 to make that decision through the Sanlam MyPortfolio app or the sanlamonline.co.za website. If you chose not to opt in, you have only a vested pot and no savings pot.
Sanlam Two Pot System Withdrawal: Minimum Balances and the Rules That Apply
The universal minimum withdrawal amount across all South African retirement funds is R2,000. Sanlam applies this to employer-linked funds administered through Sanlam Corporate. For retirement annuity members on the Sanlam individual platform, the minimum balance required in your savings component before you can make a withdrawal is R2,500. If your savings pot holds less than R2,500, you cannot claim until contributions build it above that threshold.
You may make one savings pot withdrawal per fund per tax year. The tax year runs from 1 March to the last day of February. A withdrawal in May means you cannot access the same fund’s savings pot again until the following 1 March.
There is no official upper limit on the withdrawal amount other than your available savings pot balance. You can withdraw the entire pot in a single claim if you choose. You can also withdraw a partial amount and leave the remainder to continue growing.
Here is how the pot growth works in practice. Say you earn R22,000 a month and your employer contributes 15% of your salary to a Sanlam-administered pension fund. That is R3,300 a month in total contributions. One-third of that, R1,100, flows into your savings pot each month. After twelve months, R13,200 in new contributions have arrived, on top of whatever seeding amount you started with. Your savings pot also earns investment returns on the full balance, in line with whatever underlying investment portfolio your fund uses.
How to Submit a Withdrawal Through Sanlam’s Platforms
Sanlam offers multiple channels for savings pot withdrawal claims, depending on which of their product lines holds your savings.
For members of employer-linked funds administered by Sanlam Corporate (this covers many South African companies whose pension or provident funds are administered by Sanlam Employee Benefits), the typical route is through the member portal at sanlamonline.co.za or through the Sanlam MyPortfolio app. Both platforms allow you to log in, view your pot balances, and submit a withdrawal request online. Your employer may also have a dedicated portal through which you access your fund information.
For individual retirement annuity holders on the Sanlam personal platform, access works through the same sanlamonline.co.za portal or the MyPortfolio app. Log in with your ID number and password, navigate to your retirement fund information, view your savings pot balance, and submit a withdrawal request. Sanlam confirms the amount you are requesting, shows you an indication of the tax that will be withheld, and asks you to confirm the bank account to which the payment should be made.
For members who cannot access the digital platforms, written forms are available and can be submitted via Sanlam’s branch network or through your financial adviser. Sanlam Corporate also offers free retirement benefit counsellors for members of funds that have elected to use this service. These counsellors can help you understand the implications of a withdrawal before you commit.
Before you submit through any channel, verify that your correct SARS income tax reference number, ID number, email address, and mobile number are on file with Sanlam. If any of these are outdated, your claim will stall at the SARS tax directive stage.
What SARS Deducts Before Your Sanlam Two Pot Payment Arrives
The tax on a savings pot withdrawal is not a flat rate and it is not a special Sanlam charge. SARS taxes your withdrawal as ordinary income in the tax year you receive it. Sanlam applies to SARS for a tax directive on your behalf, SARS calculates your marginal tax rate based on your expected annual income, and Sanlam withholds that percentage before paying you. Any outstanding SARS tax debt is also deducted from your withdrawal before you receive the balance.
Here is a concrete example. You earn R20,000 a month (R240,000 per year) and you withdraw R18,000 from your Sanlam savings pot. SARS treats your taxable income for the year as R258,000. At that level, your marginal rate for the 2025/26 tax year is 26%. Tax on the withdrawal is R4,680. You receive R13,320.
A higher earner on R45,000 a month (R540,000 per year) withdraws R25,000. Their total taxable income becomes R565,000. Their marginal rate is 36%. Tax is R9,000. They receive R16,000.
| Annual Income | Marginal Rate (2025/26) | Tax on R18,000 Withdrawal | Net Received |
| Up to R237,100 | 18% | R3,240 | R14,760 |
| R237,101 to R370,500 | 26% | R4,680 | R13,320 |
| R370,501 to R512,800 | 31% | R5,580 | R12,420 |
| R512,801 to R673,000 | 36% | R6,480 | R11,520 |
| Above R673,000 | 39% to 45% | R7,020 to R8,100 | R9,900 to R10,980 |
Sanlam also points members to the SARS Two-Pot Retirement System Calculator on the SARS website, where you can run a simulated tax calculation before you submit. This is worth doing if you are near a bracket threshold, as a large withdrawal can push your total income into the next bracket and significantly reduce your net payout.
How Sanlam Verifies Bank Account Details Before Paying
One Sanlam-specific process that surprises members is the bank account verification step. Sanlam does not simply pay to any account number you provide. Their system verifies your personal details against your banking records at the relevant bank before releasing a payment.
In practice, Sanlam cross-references the details you have on file with them against information held by your bank. If the details match, the payment proceeds. If there is a discrepancy, Sanlam places the claim on hold and contacts you to resolve it. This adds a layer of security but can delay payment if your details are not current.
Your employer may have the ability to input different bank account details on your behalf if you want the withdrawal paid into an account other than your salary account. In that case, the same verification process applies to the new account before payment is released.
The practical implication: do not wait until you submit a claim to discover your Sanlam records show an old bank account. Log into the member portal before you submit, confirm the account details on file, and update them through your HR department or directly with Sanlam if needed. Capitec, Nedbank, Standard Bank, ABSA, and FNB accounts all work for receiving Sanlam payments, but the account must be verified and in your name.
Misconceptions About the Sanlam Two Pot System That Cost Members Money
The most common mistake Sanlam members make is confusing the Sanlam two pot system with their full retirement savings. The savings pot contains only one-third of contributions made since September 2024, plus the seeding amount of up to R30,000. If you have been contributing to a Sanlam fund for fifteen years and have R700,000 saved, the vast majority of that sits in the vested pot and is inaccessible through the savings pot mechanism.
A second mistake is assuming the savings pot balance shown in the app is the cash amount you will receive. The displayed figure is the gross balance. SARS will deduct tax at your marginal rate before payment. What you see is not what you get.
A third error is withdrawing from the savings pot without checking the impact on long-term retirement savings. Sanlam is explicit about this on their platform: any withdrawal means less money at retirement. The compound growth lost on a savings pot withdrawal is permanent. A R20,000 withdrawal at age 38, growing at 9% annually until retirement at 65, represents approximately R184,000 of lost retirement capital. Sanlam’s retirement benefit counsellors can help you model this before you decide.
A fourth widespread misconception is that you can make multiple savings pot withdrawals in a year if you withdraw small amounts. You cannot. The rule is one withdrawal per fund per tax year, regardless of the amount. A R2,500 withdrawal in April uses up your full annual allowance for that fund until the following March.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Sanlam Two Pot System
How do I check my Sanlam savings pot balance?
Log into the sanlamonline.co.za website or the Sanlam MyPortfolio app using your ID number and password. Your savings pot, retirement pot, and vested pot balances appear on your fund summary page. For employer-linked funds where your company uses a dedicated employer portal, your HR department can provide access. If you have never registered for online access, you can register directly on sanlamonline.co.za.
What is the minimum balance required to withdraw from a Sanlam savings pot?
For employer-linked pension and provident funds administered through Sanlam Corporate, the minimum withdrawal is R2,000, in line with the national legislative requirement. For individual retirement annuity products on the Sanlam personal platform, the minimum savings component balance required before a withdrawal is R2,500. If your balance falls below your applicable minimum, you must wait until contributions build it back above the threshold.
How long does a Sanlam two pot withdrawal take to pay out?
Sanlam processed most of its early claims within five to seven business days for members with up-to-date profiles and pre-registered bank account details. The timeline can extend if the bank account verification step identifies a mismatch, if SARS is experiencing directive processing delays, or if your tax number on file is incorrect. For straightforward claims, Sanlam’s digital processing is among the faster options in the private sector market.
Can I withdraw from my Sanlam savings pot if I am still employed?
Yes. You do not need to resign or retire to access your Sanlam savings pot. The savings pot was designed specifically to allow employed fund members to access a portion of their savings without exiting the fund. Your employment status has no bearing on your eligibility, as long as your savings pot balance meets the minimum threshold and you have not already made a savings pot withdrawal from that fund in the current tax year.
Read more: GEPF two pot payments
If you are a Sanlam fund member ready to submit a savings pot claim, start by logging into the MyPortfolio app or the sanlamonline.co.za portal and confirming your savings pot balance, your bank account details, and your SARS tax number are all current. Calculate your expected net payout using the SARS Two-Pot Retirement System Calculator before you commit to an amount.
The Sanlam two pot system gives you real access to a genuine financial buffer, but the tax cost is real and the lost compounding is permanent. Use the savings pot for genuine need, not routine expenses. Before you decide how much to withdraw, understanding exactly what SARS will deduct at your income level will help you avoid the most common disappointment, receiving significantly less than you planned for. See our full breakdown of two-pot withdrawal tax rates and how to calculate your net payout before you submit.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Tax rules and fund regulations may change. Speak to a registered financial advisor or visit sars.gov.za for guidance specific to your situation.
