IslamicFinance.de

Islamic pensions are making inroads in several majority-Muslim countries, and their success may help the growth of asset management industries across much of Asia and the Middle East. Most pension plans around the world are state-funded. But many countries are trying to develop private pension sectors as a way to deepen their financial markets, and Islamic finance can become a significant part of this effort. If state-owned pensions in major Islamic markets shifted a portion of their money into sharia-compliant schemes, that could add between $160 billion and $190 billion to the sector. Pakistan for example created a voluntary pension system (VPS) in 2005 which now holds 3.4 billion rupees