Islamic Retirement Planning in South Africa

The multi-manager route to Shariah retirement saving. 27four Investment Managers, an award-winning independent South African multi-manager (multiple Raging Bull and Morningstar awards), offers retirement annuity and preservation fund access to its Shariah-compliant product range, with the funds hosted on Prescient-administered retirement fund structures per the application forms on 27four's site. Instead of one house's stock picks, members hold multi-managed portfolios that allocate across underlying Shariah managers: the flagship 27four Shariah Balanced Prescient Fund of Funds (moderate risk, Regulation 28 suitable, combining Shariah equity funds, Islamic income and commodity products locally and internationally) and the 27four Shariah Income Fund (low risk, Shariah-compliant income-generating assets with fixed maturity profiles) anchor the retirement menu. Retirement annuities, preservation funds, living annuities, unit trusts, tax-free savings and endowments are all listed product wrappers for the Shariah range.

The employer-side route to Shariah retirement provision. The 27four Umbrella Fund is an independently sponsored umbrella retirement fund pitched on governance, value for money and freedom from sponsor-tied service providers, and its houseview investment menu includes dedicated Shariah-compliant portfolios alongside conventional CPI-target options (the March 2025 brochure lists Shariah options including the low-risk 27four Shariah Stable at houseview level, with employer flexibility to select portfolios outside the houseview range subject to conditions). Members get in-fund preservation on exit (savings stay invested in their chosen portfolio or the trustee default), and at retirement can move into a living annuity provided by 27four Life or purchase a with-profit annuity through Just Retirement SA or Momentum. For Muslim-owned businesses and employers with Muslim staff, this is one of the few umbrella arrangements where Shariah portfolios are first-class citizens rather than special requests.

A Shariah-compliant post-retirement income policy issued by 27four Life Limited, the group's licensed insurer. Retirees transfer compulsory annuitisation money into the living annuity and draw an income of between 2.5% and 17.5% of investment value per year (per SA living annuity law), payable monthly, quarterly or annually, while the capital remains invested in 27four's Shariah portfolio menu. The application pack documents four dedicated Shariah portfolios: the 27four Shariah Income Fund (low risk, income-generating Shariah assets with fixed maturity dates and predetermined cash flow profiles), 27four Shariah Stable Fund (low-risk multi-managed multi-asset life pool prioritising capital protection), 27four Shariah Balanced Fund of Funds (moderate risk) and 27four Shariah Wealth Builder Fund (moderately high risk life pool for long horizons), giving retirees a full risk spectrum without leaving Shariah mandates.

The Shariah-compliant portfolio range from South Africa's largest retirement fund administrator and umbrella fund provider. Alexforbes Investments runs a dedicated Shariah compliance range, led by Shariah High Growth (with Shariah Medium Growth alongside), available to institutional investors in Alexforbes umbrella and standalone retirement funds and to individuals through Alexforbes Invest retail products (fund fact sheets are published in both institutional and retail versions, the retail one noting availability for retirement investment products). Per the January 2026 fact sheet, Shariah High Growth is a multi-asset portfolio targeting long-term growth (six years plus) with a benchmark allocation of 45% FTSE/JSE Shariah All Share equity, 30% MSCI World Islamic equity, 7% local Shariah property, 13% cash (STeFI Composite minus 1%) and 5% Dow Jones Sukuk, implemented via specialist manager sleeves (Shariah Equity Local 53.3%, Shariah Equity Global 22.0%, Shariah Sukuk Local 9.6%, Shariah Property Local 8.6%, Shariah Sukuk Global 6.4% at the fact sheet date). Top equity holdings at January 2026 were led by AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, MTN Group and Valterra Platinum, reflecting the resources tilt of the Shariah-screened JSE.

South Africa's first Shariah-compliant pension annuity: the post-retirement income product that receives compulsory annuitisation money from retirement annuities, preservation funds and employer funds, and pays a regular income through retirement while remaining invested in Shariah-compliant portfolios. It is listed on the Oasis fund selection page as a post-retirement product available to individuals who have retired and want to transfer retirement savings to receive a regular income (a conventional-mandate Oasis Pension Annuity is offered alongside it, with the Crescent version carrying the Shariah mandate). Administration sits with Oasis Crescent Retirement Solutions (Pty) Ltd, the group's licensed pension fund administrator, with Oasis Crescent Capital as investment advisor and application forms published on the Oasis forms page.

Shariah-compliant preservation wrappers for South Africans leaving an employer pension or provident fund who want to preserve their accumulated benefits without moving into interest-based portfolios. Both funds are registered with the FSCA and SARS, administered by Oasis Crescent Retirement Solutions (Pty) Ltd with Oasis Crescent Capital (Pty) Ltd as investment advisor, and run a moderate-risk balanced Shariah mandate under prudential (Regulation 28) guidelines. Members may retire from the funds from age 55 (retirement from employment is not required for the preservation pension fund), taking up to one third as a lump sum (partly tax-free per the retirement tax tables) with the remainder purchasing an annuity, for which Oasis offers its own Shariah-compliant Crescent Pension Annuity. Current retirement lump sum tax tables are published on the fund pages.

South Africa's pioneering Shariah-compliant retirement annuity, part of the first Shariah suite in the country to span a collective investment scheme, retirement fund, balanced fund, pension annuity and regulated income fund. The fund is an FSCA-registered retirement annuity fund approved by SARS, administered by Oasis Crescent Retirement Solutions (Pty) Ltd (a licensed pension fund administrator) with Oasis Crescent Capital (Pty) Ltd as investment advisor. It runs a moderate-risk balanced Shariah mandate in accordance with prudential (Regulation 28) guidelines, investing across Shariah-compliant equity, property and sukuk-type income instruments through the Oasis Crescent fund range. Investors contribute single or recurring amounts (minimum R500 monthly per the fund selection page), claim tax relief up to 27.5% of taxable income (capped at R350,000 a year), and can transfer in from other approved pension, provident and RA funds. Reporting is GIPS-compliant with daily pricing submitted to S&P Micropal, Bloomberg and Failaka.

The low-cost platform route to a Shariah retirement annuity. The Sygnia RA (established by Sygnia Life Limited, FSP 2935) lets investors hold any Regulation 28 compliant fund on the Sygnia Alchemy platform, and Sygnia manages its own Shariah option for exactly this purpose: the Sygnia Islamic Balanced Fund, a Regulation 28 compliant linked life investment fund launched 1 December 2010 and managed by Sygnia Asset Management. The fund is a medium-risk, medium-equity balanced portfolio targeting steady long-term capital growth plus moderate income, diversified across asset classes and regions, and explicitly positioned as suitable as a standalone retirement investment (minimum recommended term five years). Sygnia RA minimums are R20,000 initial lump sum, R5,000 additional lump sums or R500 monthly debit orders, with free transfers in from other approved retirement funds and monthly Regulation 28 compliance monitoring by Sygnia. Third-party Shariah funds (including Camissa Islamic Balanced and the 27four Shariah Balanced Prescient Fund of Funds) are also available on the platform for RA investors who want manager choice.