Global turmoil amid tariff fears sends labor funds' losses higher

Taipei, June 2 (CNA) Weakness in global financial markets amid escalating concerns over the United States' on-and-off tariff policies increased the losses of labor funds managed by the Bureau of Labor Funds in April, bureau data showed Monday.

Accumulated losses, which reflect decreases in the value of assets in the funds' portfolios and/or declines in income on investments, rose to NT$134.8 billion (US$4.49 billion) in April after totaling NT$64.1 billion in the first quarter.

Bureau Deputy Director-General Liu Li-ju (劉麗茹) said the sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs imposed by the U.S. on April 2 U.S. time went far beyond expectations and raised uncertainties in the global economy, sending ripples through global financial markets.

Even though there was a pause announced on the harshest tariffs (excluding those imposed on China) on April 9, the markets did not fully recover.

In the first four months of 2025, the Taiex, the benchmark weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), tumbled 12.16 percent, while the MSCI World Index fell 0.40 percent.

According to the bureau, 57.90 percent of the investments made by the labor funds were made overseas and the remaining 42.10 percent was invested domestically.

The combined value of the funds managed by the bureau, including the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund, and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund, totaled NT$7.10 trillion as of the end of April.

Based on that value, the NT$199 billion losses represented a rate of return of minus 2.90 percent in the first four months of this year, according to the bureau.

The value of assets in the new Labor Pension Fund, launched in 2015, totaled NT$4.71 trillion at the end of April, the highest of any fund, and its rate of return so far this year to the end of April was minus 2.76 percent, the bureau said.

The Labor Retirement Fund, which has been in place since 1984, had about NT$1.06 trillion in assets as of the end of April, with a rate of return of minus 3.91 percent, the bureau said.

Liu said global markets appeared stable in May, with the Taiex recovering by about 5.5 percent, but the Taiwan dollar rose NT$2.088 or 6.98 percent against the U.S. dollar, which will likely lead to the labor funds reporting exchange losses.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Service Pension Fund said on Monday that the Public Service Pension Fund managed by the bureau recorded NT$42.15 billion in losses in the first four months of this year, with a rate of return of minus 4.18 percent.

In April alone, the fund posted NT$17.06 billion in losses, reflecting global market volatility, the bureau said.