Just to provide more clarity on this:
Where a member of a retirement annuity or preservation fund ceases to be a tax resident of SA, a full withdrawal is permitted, subject to income tax in terms of the withdrawal tax table.
The after tax amount can be remitted offshore as part of the emigration allowance. From 1 March, this applies to all persons ceasing to be tax residents of SA – whether officially emigrated or not. SARS and Treasury are still finalising the administrative requirements for the practical implications of this change.
It should be noted that this does not apply to preservation fund members who have already made the one pre-retirement withdrawal permitted. This seems an anomaly to us and there may be a change at some stage to bring this in line.
In post-retirement circumstances, where there is a traditional or living annuity, an individual will not be permitted access to capital as part of the emigration process. However, as has always been the case, the annuity income will be permitted to be exported, subject to normal income tax considerations.
It should be noted here that SA institutions cannot make payment directly into a foreign bank account. The remittance of annuity income may only be facilitated by an authorised dealer– i.e., an SA bank.
However, in the case of a living annuity, a full withdrawal can be made if the fund value falls below the de minimus threshold, which is currently R75 000 if no previous commutation was made prior to transfer to the annuity, or R50 000 if commutation was made.