Momentum Raises Retirement Age to 63 as South African Financial Sector Retains Experienced Executives

By JD GLOBAL MEDIA

Momentum Group has raised its normal retirement age from 60 to 63, placing the South African financial-services company among a growing number of major businesses reconsidering traditional retirement limits for senior employees.

The change was disclosed in Momentum Group’s latest annual report and comes as large South African financial institutions increasingly adjust their approach to executive retirement and succession planning. The development gives longer-term continuity to senior executives while reflecting a wider discussion in the corporate sector about how companies retain specialised skills and institutional knowledge.

The adjustment is particularly significant for Momentum Group chief executive Jeanette Marais, who is 58 and has led the listed financial-services group since 2023. Marais has been associated with the company for several periods of her career and has held senior positions across South Africa’s investment and financial-services industry.

Momentum’s decision does not stand alone. Standard Bank announced in 2025 that it would increase its executive retirement age from 60 to 63, with the change taking effect from January 2026. The bank said the adjustment was intended to align its executive retirement policy with prevailing practices in the financial-services industry and help it remain competitive in attracting and retaining senior talent.

Nedbank also moved to increase its retirement age from 60 to 63, while other major financial institutions have operated with higher retirement ages. The changes indicate that South African companies are increasingly examining whether a fixed retirement point at 60 remains appropriate for highly specialised leadership positions.

A Changing Approach to Executive Retirement

For decades, retirement at 60 was a familiar benchmark across many South African workplaces. However, executive employment operates differently from many other forms of employment because companies may depend heavily on accumulated industry knowledge, leadership experience, institutional relationships and specialised technical expertise.

The latest changes suggest that some companies are placing greater emphasis on retaining those capabilities for longer.

Standard Bank’s 2025 announcement provided one of the clearest explanations for the shift. The bank said the revised executive retirement age reflected the changing nature of leadership and the value of experience, continuity and institutional knowledge in driving long-term growth and innovation. It also linked the change to competition for talent in both local and global markets.

That reasoning is relevant beyond banking. South Africa’s financial-services sector includes highly specialised areas such as insurance, asset management, investment management, banking, risk management and regulatory compliance. Senior executives in these areas can possess decades of sector-specific experience that may not be easily replaced.

For companies, the question is therefore not simply how long an executive should remain employed. It also involves how leadership continuity is balanced with succession planning, opportunities for younger executives and the need to bring new skills into senior management.

Momentum’s Leadership Position

Marais became Momentum Group’s chief executive in 2023 after serving as deputy CEO under Hillie Meyer. Her career has included senior positions at several financial-services businesses before her return to Momentum.

According to reporting on the company’s latest annual report, Momentum has also recorded significant growth during her tenure. The company’s earnings target under its Impact strategy was reached earlier than originally planned, with the group targeting R7 billion in earnings by 2027 but reaching that level a year ahead of schedule.

The retirement-age change does not automatically mean that any individual executive will remain in a position until the new age limit. A retirement age establishes a policy framework; leadership appointments, succession decisions and board determinations remain separate matters.

For Momentum, the change nevertheless provides additional flexibility when planning its senior leadership structure.

That flexibility can be important for companies operating in sectors where leadership transitions involve substantial regulatory, operational and shareholder considerations. Financial institutions must maintain continuity while also ensuring that future leaders are developed and that governance structures remain effective.

The Wider Financial-Services Trend

The Momentum announcement comes after several large South African financial institutions altered their retirement arrangements.

Standard Bank increased the normal retirement age for executives from 60 to 63, while keeping the retirement age for its wider employee base at 63. The bank said the revised policy was designed to ensure it was not an outlier in a competitive market for senior talent.

Nedbank followed a similar direction. Reporting on the sector’s changing retirement policies has noted that Nedbank moved its retirement age to 63, citing competitiveness in attracting and retaining talent.

Other institutions have used different thresholds. Capitec and Investec, for example, have had retirement ages of 65, illustrating that there is no single retirement standard across the financial-services industry.

This means the emerging trend should not be interpreted as a universal change to South African retirement rules. Rather, individual companies are making their own employment and executive-policy decisions based on their organisational requirements.

The distinction is important because an employer's executive retirement policy is not the same thing as the statutory rules governing access to retirement savings.

Retirement Age Is Not the Same as Access to Retirement Savings

South Africans also need to distinguish between an employer's retirement age and the rules governing retirement funds.

The country's retirement system has undergone major changes in recent years, including the introduction of the two-pot retirement system in September 2024. The system divides retirement savings into different components and allows limited access to the savings component while preserving the larger retirement component for retirement.

Momentum's own retirement information explains that different retirement products are subject to specific rules concerning access to benefits. For example, members of certain retirement annuity arrangements can access retirement benefits from age 55, subject to the applicable rules, while the two-pot system provides limited access to the savings component before retirement.

Consequently, the move by Momentum to raise its normal retirement age to 63 should not be understood as changing the legal retirement age for every South African worker or changing the age at which people can access every form of retirement benefit.

It is primarily a corporate employment-policy decision.

Why Companies Are Retaining Senior Skills

One factor behind the broader corporate discussion is the competition for experienced executives.

South African financial institutions operate in an environment where senior leadership requires a combination of technical knowledge, regulatory understanding, risk-management experience and familiarity with complex markets. Companies may therefore consider retaining executives for longer where they believe their experience remains valuable.

The trend also reflects broader changes in working lives. People are living and working for longer, and some professionals remain active well beyond traditional retirement ages.

Standard Bank explicitly referred to the longer productive working life when explaining its retirement-age change. The bank said people are remaining healthy, energetic and engaged for longer, while also pointing to the importance of experienced leadership.

At the same time, extending retirement ages can create challenges for succession planning.

A company that keeps senior executives for longer may gain continuity, but it must also ensure that younger executives receive opportunities to develop and eventually take over key responsibilities. Effective succession planning therefore becomes increasingly important as retirement policies change.

Implications for Younger Executives

The shift to higher retirement ages could have mixed implications for employees at different stages of their careers.

For experienced executives, a higher retirement age can provide more time to contribute, complete long-term strategies and transfer knowledge to colleagues.

For younger managers, however, leadership positions may take longer to become available if senior executives remain in their roles for extended periods. Companies therefore need clear succession strategies so that retaining experienced leaders does not prevent the development of the next generation of management.

This is particularly relevant in large listed companies, where investors and boards generally require visibility over leadership succession and organisational continuity.

The issue is not simply about age. It is about ensuring that experience and institutional knowledge are combined with leadership renewal, new skills and changing market requirements.

What the Momentum Change Signals

Momentum’s decision adds another major South African financial-services company to a developing pattern of higher retirement thresholds.

The immediate change is straightforward: the group has moved its normal retirement age from 60 to 63. The broader significance lies in what the decision says about the changing relationship between age, experience and corporate leadership.

The move suggests that at least some major employers no longer view 60 as an automatic endpoint for senior executives. Instead, companies are increasingly considering whether experienced leaders can continue adding value beyond that age while balancing the need for succession and organisational renewal.

The financial-services sector is likely to remain an important area to watch because it relies heavily on specialised professional skills and faces continuing competition for experienced leadership.

For employees and investors, the key issue will be how companies translate these policy changes into practical succession plans. A higher retirement age can provide additional leadership continuity, but boards still have to determine how long individual executives remain in their positions and how future leaders are prepared.

Momentum’s latest decision therefore represents more than an adjustment to an internal human-resources policy. It is part of a wider shift among major South African companies toward reconsidering traditional retirement timelines for senior professionals.

As businesses compete for scarce skills and experienced leadership, the boundary between traditional retirement and continued executive employment is becoming less rigid. At the same time, companies will have to balance the benefits of retaining institutional knowledge with the need to develop and promote the next generation of South African corporate leaders.