It was reported on the 29th that the National Pension Fund’s return on investment is expected to record approximately 20%, the highest since the system was introduced in 1988.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare explained in a press release that this performance surpasses last year’s return of 15% and is largely attributed to domestic and foreign stock markets.
According to preliminary figures, the returns by asset class were approximately 78% for domestic stocks, 25% for overseas stocks, 8% for alternative investments, 7% for overseas bonds, and 1% for domestic bonds.
The final return, reflecting the fair value evaluation of alternative investments, is expected to be announced in February next year. As of December’s preliminary figures, the National Pension Fund amounts to about 1,473 trillion won.
This marks an increase of approximately 260 trillion won compared to the end of last year, when it was 1,213 trillion won, reflecting a growth rate of 21.4%. The increase is about 5.9 times the pension expenditure of 44 trillion won for 2024.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, “We plan to improve the asset allocation system, including the standard portfolio, and to further enhance returns by expanding infrastructure such as professional management personnel to achieve the target return rate of 5.5%.”