Your Pension Is Funding Genocide — Here’s How

In the UK, approximately 80% of employees have a workplace pension as a means of saving for retirement. Pensions are an extremely tax-efficient way to save for the future due to the tax benefits they offer.

Furthermore, they force investors to have compound growth work in their favour as they are typically long term investments that can't be accessed until retirement. (Compound growth - The 8th wonder of the world)

What the majority of employees don't realise is where the funds invested in their pension are allocated.

There are 2 main reasons why you would want to adjust from the default fund allocation: maximising return and ensuring that our investments are more in line with ethical and Islamic principles (via removing bonds and moving to shariah-compliant equity funds )

(YES YOU CAN CHOOSE WHAT INVESTMENTS ARE MADE)

The default allocations which the majority of employees remain on will typically raise allocation to Bonds as you approach closer to retirement age. For simplicity's sake, the average allocation to bonds sits at ~ 25% throughout employment.

A bond is essentially a loan agreement where an investor lends money to a government or company (the issuer) for a set period, receiving regular interest payments (the coupon) in return. At the end of the term (maturity), the investor gets their initial investment back.

There are a number of concerns we should have owning these debt instruments:

1- For Muslims, bonds are riba-based products, and thus we should be avoiding receiving income from interest. For more details about how riba is intertwined with the fiat monetary system, read It's Time for Muslims to Embrace Bitcoin and https://bitcoinmajlis.org/the-riba-is-in-the-money/

2- Bond returns when adjusted for inflation (The Truth About Inflation) are extremely low relative to stocks, gold and bitcoin. Whilst pitched as "safe" investments bond returns are extremely low given the imbedded risk that they contain.

3- The UK government continues to support illegal wars and Genocide, particularly supporting Israel in its attacks on Palestine via weapons export licenses.

By boycotting bond ownership, investors can indirectly signal to governments that they are no longer willing to fund their foreign policies.

The UK's defence spending is projected to be £64.6 billion in 2024/25, approximately 2.32% of GDP. Defence spending accounts for roughly 4.7% of total government revenue!

Given the current Geo-political situation in the world, the vast majority of readers will be looking for ways to protest against the monetary support given by Western governments towards weapons and defence spending.

Whilst governments will argue that money raised from Bond sales is not directly used for military spending and aid to Israel, we must consider the government budget holistically - this spending must be funded by either borrowing (bond sales) or from tax revenue.

The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement has been targeting companies which specifically support the Zionist movement and injustices in Palestine. https://bdsmovement.net/what-bds

At Rizq Revolution we believe we can take this a step further and begin to boycott the monetary system which supports this.

The simplest first step to this boycott begins with reallocating where our pensions are invested. We asked AI to esitmate how much UK Muslims have invested in Gilts, assuming we mirror the UK median worker.

✅ Final Estimate

£6.9 billion
→ This is the estimated amount UK Muslims may have invested in gilts (UK govt bonds) via pensions, assuming their savings follow the same patterns as the UK median pension.

If we extend this further to all Brits who are opposed to illegal wars the number grows to an estimated £20bn.

This model can be replicated in other Western countries such as the USA, who are the largest financial backers of Israel.

It is time for us to make our pensions ethical and in line with our views. Not knowing where our money is invested is no longer an option.

If we can withdraw over £6bn in funding from the UK government we will make a meaningful impact and demand better from those in charge who support oppression.

YOU can request to amend your allocations:

Step 1 – Find out who is your pension provider from your workplace – For example – Aviva, Legal&General, Fidelity , Nutmeg etc.

Step 2 – Gain access to your online pension account – this will also have useful pension calculators so you can see how much your pot is predicted to be at the end.

Step 3 – Amend fund allocation – you can adjust where your pension funds are held –

• Remove the investments in Fixed Income Bond markets.
• Look for shariah compliant equity funds available to you.
• Look for possible allocations to gold funds to replicate the "safer" investments in your portfolio

If you're unsure, please speak to a financial advisor for guidance about possible allocations. More details can be found A Guide To Pensions

Some alarming statistics on military spending:

• The UK has licensed £487 million worth of military exports to Israel since 2015 (as of 2023).
• Since October 7, the UK has approved at least £57 million in new arms export licenses (per UK government data). These include components for aircraft, missiles, and technology, but not whole weapons systems.
• 2023/24 Defence Budget: The Ministry Of Defence's total expenditure was £53.9 billion. Projected 2024/25 Spending: The budget is expected to rise to £56.9 billion. Including additional costs like pensions, the UK's defence spending is projected to be £64.6 billion in 2024/25, approximately 2.32% of GDP
• Since October 2023, the United States has provided at least $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel, marking the highest annual total in U.S. history for such assistance. This support includes:aa.com.tr

Additionally, the U.S. has spent $4.86 billion on increased military operations in the region, including efforts to counter attacks on commercial shipping by Iranian-backed groups.

• $5.7 billion for missile defense systems like Iron Beam
• $1 billion for heavy weaponry
• $4.4 billion to replenish U.S. weapon stocks transferred to Israel