Martin Hesse

Former Content Editor

Medical aid versus health insurance – know the difference

Martin Hesse|Published

It’s important to know the background about legislation governing the health-care sector in South Africa, says the writer.

How Fica now applies to high-value purchases

Martin Hesse|Published

High-value goods are defined as goods that sell for more than R100 000 per item.

Six ombuds you can turn to for help

Martin Hesse|Published

There are six ombuds you need to know about, to whom you can complain about a financial service or product.

ConCourt ruling puts pension worries to rest

Martin Hesse|Published

A ruling by the highest court in the land, the Constitutional Court, has put to rest concerns about pension fund rule amendments, which arose after a determination ...

SA’s health-care system: Looking into the abyss

Martin Hesse|Published

Private health care is growing increasingly out of reach of anyone outside the top income brackets. So where does the lower-income worker, who can’t afford expensive ...

FSCA warns against Nkuna Wealth Group

Martin Hesse|Published

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has warned members of the public to be cautious when doing any financial services business with the Nkuna Wealth Group.

Driver’s licence delays: are you still insured if your licence expires?

Martin Hesse|Published

Many drivers are worried that driving without a valid licence will affect their car insurance.

SA consumers continue to suffer financial effects of pandemic as Black Friday looms

Martin Hesse|Published

For the average consumer, income levels are down, savings are down and debt levels have risen – and yet many expect to extend their credit to cash in on Black Friday ...

Interest rates begin their upward trajectory ‒ slowly

Martin Hesse|Published

This afternoon SA Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago announced a 25 basis point (0. 25%) rise in the repo rate, as decided by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee. ...

MTBPS: what it means for you, the consumer

Martin Hesse|Published

OPINION: Those who may have expected a softening of previous minister Tito Mboweni’s relatively hard line on fiscal consolidation and policy reform would have been ...

Sars reverts to old method for claiming school fees for special-needs children

Martin Hesse|Published

The South African Revenue Service says it has reverted to its 2012 method of calculating school fees for parents/guardians of disabled children at special-needs ...

Surge in insurance fraud cases as SA struggles during pandemic

Martin Hesse|Published

According to statistics released this week there was a 12% increase in fraudulent claims from 2019 to 2020.

FEATURE: Refusing the jab may have financial implications

Martin Hesse|Published

Vaccine hesitant? If the compelling evidence coming out of the United States and United Kingdom on the efficacy of vaccines in preventing serious illness and death ...

Should anti-vaxxers pay more for life insurance?

Martin Hesse|Published

On the face of it, people who are not vaccinated against vaccine-preventable deadly diseases pose a higher risk to life insurance companies than those who are

This is the tax you pay

Martin Hesse|Published

As an individual, you probably pay more to the government than you realise.

The cost of payment holidays

Martin Hesse|Published

Payment holidays were good news for people facing a short-term cash crunch, but they came at a cost

Beware of scam e-mails informing you of a tax refund

Martin Hesse|Published

Scamsters taking advantage of the new auto-assessment process introduced by the South African Revenue Service.

Call for government to unlock retirement funds

Martin Hesse|Published

Although the retirement fund industry has always emphasised the importance of preserving retirement savings, the argument is that many employers and employees, whose ...

Sars announces changes to this year's filing

Martin Hesse|Published

It has also reiterated that taxes need to be paid.