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You as an individual cannot open a pension fund. The company you work for can. As an individual, you can open an RA. RA - matures at retirement age. You'll then be able to buy an annuity with it which will provide you with income. Other than that, the only way to get money out of an RA is to formally emigrate or you have to prove that you'll basically die if that money doesn't become available (I've only heard of this, can imagine that it is borderline impossible). Pension - when you leave your current place of employment you'll have four options: Take the Pension money and move it into an RA Move the pension money to your new employer's pension fund Take the money and run (you'll pay tax on it) Move it to a preservation fund Preservation fund uses the same type of funds (regulation 28) as your pension and RA does, however you have the option of withdrawing from the fund once before retirement. Not sure if that restriction is per fund or per tax entity (you). Personally, I have a pension fund at 10x and an RA at Allan Gray. When I leave my current place of employment I will move my pension to a preservation fund. If I had to start an RA and only have one - 10x.

Benefit of a TFIA if you start it early enough is that although your contribution limits are low the years it has to grow in value will result in quite a sum of money. Chances are that those limits will increase a couple of times more in the coming decades before you retire. Once you reach retirement (or have enough funds in your TFIA) you can use it to buy income generating funds which will provide you with additional income (tax free).