by Joon Chong & Wesley Grimm Share (iStock) South Africans who are emigrating for exchange control purposes can currently make pre-retirement lump sum withdrawals from their retirement funds. A proposal in the Draft Tax Bill says lump sum benefits from retirement funds should only be allowed when a member of a retirement fund is no longer an SA resident and has remained non-tax resident for three years. The three-year rule will impact all who are members of retirement funds and require immediate access to their retirement funds upon emigration. The National Treasury has published the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2020 (Draft Tax Bill) for public comment. One of the more contentious proposals in the Draft Tax Bill relates to the ability of people emigrating from South Africa to access amounts in their pension preservation fund, provident preservation fund and retirement annuity fund (retirement funds) when they leave.