Small businesses are the engine of South Africa’s economy, accounting for over 90% of formal enterprises and playing a critical role in job creation and GDP growth. Yet many employees in this sector lack access to basic financial protection and retirement planning tools.

This is more than a workplace issue. It highlights a deeper national challenge: financial exclusion. Without the ability to save or insure against risk, workers are left vulnerable. A single accident, illness, or job loss can push entire families into financial hardship.

This is where group risk and retirement benefits become essential not just as perks, but as tools for financial inclusion and long-term stability.

At ASI Wealth, we believe that everyone deserves the right to a secure financial future, regardless of income level.

The role of Group benefits in building resilience

For many workers in small businesses, financial stability remains out of reach. Group schemes are designed to address this, offering a structured, inclusive way to bring employees into the formal financial system.

They do this in three keyways:

• Pooling risk to keep premiums affordable: By combining employees into a single group, financial risk is shared. This allows for lower, more predictable premiums for life, disability, and funeral cover often much cheaper than individual products.

• Making it easy to join, especially for those new to formal financial products

• Building saving habits through payroll deductions: Regular contributions directly from salaries foster a culture of disciplined saving. Over time, this builds meaningful retirement and emergency funds, giving employees confidence in their financial future.

When structured well and communicated clearly, these benefits become powerful tools. They give employees the means to protect their families, plan for retirement, and face life’s uncertainties with confidence.

Partnership is key

Expanding access to these benefits in the small business sector will require more than just new products. It calls for collaboration between employers, workers and policymakers.

Employers need to be supported and incentivised to offer group schemes, even if they operate with thin margins. Workers must be educated on how these benefits work and why participation matters. And most importantly financial services providers must ensure that offerings are tailored, transparent, and inclusive.

This is especially urgent in South Africa’s current climate, where inequality and economic precarity remain high. Creating more financial resilience among working-class households many of whom are employed by SMEs is key to national stability and long-term growth.

This shared ownership creates a culture of care and accountability where every rand invested builds towards something bigger.

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