Five financial behaviours determine your Vitality Money status
Your Vitality Money status is based on how well you manage five controllable financial behaviours:
Having enough savings
Managing short-term debt
Having the right types of insurance
Being on track for retirement
Managing property investments
You earn points for how well you manage each behaviour, and your total points determine your Vitality Money status. You can also earn points for setting up a budget and engaging with the Vitality Money Financial Analyser and for completing a Worth financial education course. By improving your financial health, you can improve your Vitality Money status and unlock better savings and borrowing rates, amazing dynamic lifestyle rewards, and much more.
How to earn points for each behaviour
The maximum points you can earn for each behaviour depends on your gross annual income or chosen card colour, whichever is higher.
| THE FIVE FINANCIAL BEHAVIOURS | MAXIMUM POINTS EARNED BASED ON GROSS ANNUAL INCOME OR CARD COLOUR | |
|---|---|---|
| R349 999 or below, or a Gold card | R350 000 or above, or a Platinum, Black or Purple Card | |
| Having enough savings | 30 000 points | 25 000 points |
| Managing your short-term debt | 30 000 points | 25 000 points |
| Having the right types of insurance | 25 000 points | 25 000 points |
| Being on track for retirement | 10 000 points | 10 000 points |
| Managing your property investments | 5 000 points | 15 000 points |
How we determine your Vitality Money status
We use the information we receive from you, credit and insurance bureaus, property registers and the Discovery Group to get an overall view of your financial health. This information allows us to measure how well you're doing in the five behaviours.
Remember, Vitality Money is not measuring how much money you make but rather how you use the money you have to build financial independence and financial resilience in the long-term.
Your total points determine your Vitality Money status. Your points targets are personalised based on a combination of your age, gross annual income, and whether you're retired or not. You can view, edit and add information in the Discovery Bank app at any time to make sure you get the correct Vitality Money points.
| Vitality Money Status | POINTS FOR NON-RETIRED CLIENTS | POINTS FOR RETIRED CLIENTS |
|---|---|---|
| BLUE | 39 999 points or below | 34 999 points or below |
| BRONZE | From 40 000 to 59 999 points | From 35 000 to 52 499 points |
| SILVER | From 60 000 to 79 999 points | From 52 500 to 69 999 points |
| GOLD | 80 000 points or above | 70 000 points or above |
| DIAMOND | 80 000 points or above + Discovery Bank Savings |
70 000 points or above + Discovery Bank Savings |
How to achieve Diamond Vitality Money status
To achieve Diamond Vitality Money status, you need to have 80 000 points or more (or 70 000 or more points if you're retired) plus a certain amount of savings across your Discovery Bank accounts. The amount of savings you need depends on your gross annual income or chosen card colour, whichever is higher.
| Your annual income or card color | savings you need to get to diamond vitality money status |
|---|---|
| R349 999 or below, or a Gold card | R20 000 |
| R350 000 to R849 999, or a Platinum card | R45 000 |
| R850 000 or above, or a Black or Purple card | R100 000 |
Purple Suite clients with Vitality Money activated and R250 000 savings qualify for Diamond status.
Having enough savings
Why having enough savings matters
- Savings keep you safe from life's unexpected expenses. You're more prepared, and you don't have to dip into your retirement savings or go into debt when unexpected expenses pop up.
- Studies show that if faced with an unexpected expense of R10 000, more than 50% of South Africans will have to take out a personal loan, rely on credit facilities or borrow from family or friends, and roughly 30% are not certain how they'd handle such an expense.
- As a general rule, you need to have at least three months' gross salary in savings. These savings will soften a financial setback from unfortunate events such as losing your job or needing to do major repair work on your house.
How we calculate your savings points
We consider the following types of savings when calculating your savings points:
- Emergency savings, which are easily accessible.
- A wide range of non-retirement savings, including (but not limited to) unit trusts, stocks, forex, and endowments.
We don't consider the following savings when calculating your savings points:
- Retirement savings, which count towards retirement points.
- Home loans, which count towards property points.
To earn maximum savings points, you need to reach your savings target amount, which we set at three times your gross monthly income.
The closer you are to the three-month gross salary target, the higher your savings points will be, and the more prepared you will be for an unforeseen event. These savings must be across your Discovery Bank savings accounts or in investments with other non-bank financial institutions, which are not for retirement.
How to earn more savings points
You can improve your savings points with every rand you save in qualifying savings or investment accounts. You automatically earn points for amounts in Discovery Bank savings accounts and certain investments with Discovery Invest.
You can earn more savings points by:
Uploading documents showing proof of savings and investments with other non-bank financial institutions using the app.
Transferring savings from other banks to Discovery Bank savings accounts.
Increasing the amount you contribute towards a savings account each month.
Having savings held in a trust, but you may only claim the value of your share. You must upload proof using the Discovery Bank app.
Track your savings points on the app
To see your savings points and personalised targets, view the Savings ring under the Vitality Money section of the banking app. You can also see your Discovery Bank and Discovery Invest savings balances, and upload proof of external savings to earn additional points in this section of the app.
Managing your short-term debt
Why managing your short-term debt matters
Unsecured short-term debt can become very expensive when you don't manage it responsibly.
In South Africa, there are more people with unsecured debt than employed people. If you don't manage short term debt carefully, you could end up spending most of your salary paying it off and not having any money left over for living costs and saving.
Inconsistent and missed payments may also result in additional interest and penalties and may negatively affect your credit record.
How we calculate your short-term debt points
We look at how much of your income you use to pay off your short-term debt every month across your unsecured credit products based on credit bureau data. Examples of short term debt are credit cards, store cards and personal loans. However, this excludes debt and repayments on home loans and vehicle financing, which we measure under property.
To earn maximum short-term debt points, your minimum unsecured debt repayments need to be less than 5% of your gross monthly income.
If your minimum unsecured debt repayments are more than 5% of your gross monthly income, you earn points on a sliding scale down to 0.
How to earn more short-term debt points
- Pay extra towards your existing short-term debt to reduce it.
- Structure your budget to avoid taking on more debt.
- Meet your repayment obligations each month and pay them on time.
- By doing this consistently, you improve your debt-to-income ratio and earn more short-term debt points.
Track your short term debt points on the app
To see your short-term debt points and personalised targets, view the Debt ring under the Vitality Money section of the Discovery Bank app. You can also see your unsecured short term debt balance and your minimum repayment amounts in this section of the app.
Having the right types of insurance
Why having the right types of insurance matters
Insurance, together with savings, keeps your financial future and your assets secure when unexpected events occur.
Research shows that 65% of cars are not insured while 32% of middle- and upper-income South Africans don't have medical aid cover, putting them at risk of being financially exposed when an unexpected event occurs.
How we calculate your insurance points
We calculate your insurance points by looking at whether you have the right types of insurance in place to guard against unexpected expenses. This includes:
Life insurance to protect you and your loved ones in the event of death, disability, or illness.
Short-term insurance to protect you from sudden and unforeseen loss or damage to your valuable possessions.
Medical aid to protect you from the high costs of medical expenses.
How to earn more insurance points
- You automatically earn points for life insurance through Discovery Life, short-term insurance through Discovery Insure, and medical aid through the Discovery Health Medical Scheme, if the policies are in your name.
- To earn points for insurance with other insurance providers, you need to upload proof of the insurance using the Discovery Bank app.
- To earn points for cover from a policy that isn't in your name, you will also need to upload proof using the banking app.
- You can earn more insurance points by taking out the missing types of cover or increasing your premiums to meet the minimum requirements.
Remember, your insurance points don't measure whether the amount of insurance you have is enough. Speak to your financial adviser to discuss your cover and insurance options.
Track your insurance points on the app
To see your insurance points, view the Insurance ring under the Vitality Money section of the Discovery Bank app. You will also see your insurance cover and be able to upload proof of external cover to earn additional points in this section of the app.
Being on track for retirement
Why being on track for retirement matters
When you retire, you still need an income to pay for your monthly expenses. To stop working at some point and not rely on a monthly income from your job, you need to have retirement investments that generate income for you.
The average South African can expect to live two years longer than five years ago, and if you are a Gold or Diamond Vitality Health member, it's 20 years longer.
Your goal is to have at least 75% of your pre-retirement gross monthly income available to you when you retire. By starting to save as early as possible and making sure that you use compound interest to your advantage, you can make sure that you have enough retirement savings for this goal.
How we calculate your retirement points
We calculate your retirement points by comparing your monthly retirement contributions, accumulated retirement savings, and income to a target in line with your age.
To receive maximum retirement points, you need to be on track to retire by the age of 65 with 75% of your preretirement gross income (or by your next birthday, if you're already 65 or over).
You'll earn retirement points for saving in retirement investment instruments such as retirement annuities, pension funds and provident funds, whether they're with Discovery or another financial institution. You won't earn retirement points for potential future income on businesses, shares, or properties. However, these may potentially count towards your savings and property points.
How to earn more retirement points
We automatically include select retirement annuities, provident funds and pension funds from Discovery Invest, including the Discovery Retirement Optimiser (DRO). We do not count boosts from Discovery Invest products towards your retirement points.
You can also:
- Open a new retirement investment and start making monthly contributions, or make a lump-sum deposit, or both.
- Increase your monthly contributions towards your existing retirement investments.
- Make lump-sum deposits into your existing retirement investments.
- Earn retirement points for savings with other financial services providers as well as for Discovery Invest products that we don't count automatically, you'll need to upload proof using the banking app.
Track your retirement points on the app
To see your retirement points, view the Retirement ring under the Vitality Money section of the Discovery Bank app. You can also see your existing retirement contributions and savings balance and upload proof of recurring contributions and other retirement balances to earn additional points in this section of the app.
Managing your property investments
Why managing your property investments matters
Whether you buy a house or choose to rent, you need a place to live when you retire. That's why you need to pay off your home loan before you retire or have enough savings to cover rent and accommodation expenses during retirement.
How we calculate your property points
Property points measure if you're on track to build up long-term assets so you either have a place to live debt-free or to cover future rent in retirement. We calculate property points using the value of your long-term assets minus all secured debt, relative to a long-term asset target.
- When calculating your personal long-term assets, we look at your excess savings plus the total value of the properties you own. Excess savings are any savings over and above the target of three times your gross monthly income used for savings points. Because we include excess savings in the calculation, you can earn property points even if you don't own property.
- Your secured debt is measured as the amount you still owe on your properties and any vehicles you own.
- We standardise your long-term asset target for your age and provide an average property value for your income level. This target increases as you get older. If you own a property or multiple properties, we'll use the lower value between the value of your most expensive property and the average property value of someone with your income level when determining the long-term asset target.
To earn maximum property points, the value of your long-term assets minus your secured debt needs to be greater than or equal to your long-term asset target. If the value of your long-term assets decreases or your secured debt increases, your property points will decrease.
Track your property points on the app
To see your property points, view the Property ring under the Vitality Money section of the Discovery Bank app. You can also view the total value of properties you own, your excess savings, and your outstanding secured debt, as well as upload proof of any additional properties that you own. You can also upload proof of ownership for properties that are jointly owned or held in a trust. Note that we won't accept properties owned in only your spouse's name.
How to earn wealth points with Vitality Money
This only applies to clients with a gross annual income of R850 000 or above.
In addition to earning points for the five financial behaviours, you can also unlock and earn wealth points for investable assets (excluding property and retirement savings), which will count as additional points towards your savings score.
If you have R5 million or more in savings and investments with Discovery Bank, Discovery Invest, or other non-bank financial institutions, you could earn between 20 000 and 80 000 additional points based on the value of these investable assets.
You can reach Gold Vitality Money status because you own a significant amount of investable assets. And once you're on Gold Vitality Money status, all you need to do to earn Diamond Vitality Money status is maintain a savings balance of R100 000 or more across your Discovery Bank accounts.
View the Savings ring under the Vitality Money section of the Discovery Bank app to see your current savings balance. Upload proof of external savings to unlock your additional points. Your wealth points will automatically unlock once your recorded savings balance exceeds R5 million and we will allocate them over and above your existing savings points.
You earn Wealth points as follows:
| VALUE OF INVESTIBLE ASSETS | POINTS |
|---|---|
| R5 million to R7.5 million | 20 000 points |
| More than R7.5 million to R10 million | 30 000 points |
| More than R10 million to R12.5 million | 40 000 points |
| More than R12.5 million to R15 million | 50 000 points |
| More than R15 million to R20 million | 60 000 points |
| More than R20 million | 80 000 points |