“The retrenchment came as a huge shock to me. I was nervous and uncertain about the future and finding employment,” says Vivian, who had been working as a sales executive for Tiger Consumer Brands for seven years when he heard he was about to be retrenched in a corporate restructuring.
He received two months’ notice of retrenchment on the 2nd of August 2017 and his last day was on the 29th of September.
Vivian, who is 36, had only changed jobs a couple of times before. “I consider myself quite loyal and am not a job hopper, so to speak,” he says.
He had been contributing to the group pension plan for the seven years he had worked for Tiger Brands. He adds that he thinks compulsory saving is a good thing.
“I wasn't quite sure how things worked when one gets retrenched and what happens to your pension,” he says. “But I knew I wanted to save it and not use it as I'm afraid that I'm already behind in savings where I should be at this stage in my life.”
Vivian said he chose to approach 10X Investments to discuss preserving his savings because of the low fees and simple sales pitch. As regards the industry at large, Vivian says, there is generally “too much noise and jargon”.