Labor funds post record gains over NT$1 trillion in 2025

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) Funds managed by Taiwan's Bureau of Labor Funds posted gains of over NT$1 trillion (US$31.59 billion) in 2025, setting a record for the second consecutive year, according to data released by the bureau on Monday.

The funds' accumulated gains, which reflect increases (or decreases) in the value of assets in the funds' portfolios and income from investments, totaled about NT$1.118 trillion last year, surpassing the NT$1.043 trillion in gains posted in 2024.

That translated to a rate of return of 16.06 percent in 2025, the data showed.

The bureau said that in the first half of 2025, global financial markets experienced significant volatility due to factors such as U.S. tariff policy and uncertain growth prospects.

Although those factors stabilized to an extent in the second half of the year, geopolitical conflicts and tariff policy uncertainties continued to disrupt the market, complicating investment decisions, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's stock market was boosted by the stable performance of stocks connected to Taiwan's key position in the semiconductor and electronics industries, the bureau said.

The combined value of the funds managed by the bureau, which include the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund, the Occupational Accident Insurance Fund, and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund, totaled NT$7.79 trillion as of the end of 2025.

Of the overall NT$1.118 trillion in gains recorded last year, the new Labor Pension Fund, launched in 2015, reported gains of NT$746.9 billion, or a 15.60 percent rate of return, the data showed.

The new Labor Pension Fund's profits amounted to an increase of NT$57,809 per worker account. Under Bureau of Labor Insurance regulations, those funds will be disbursed to workers' accounts in March, though they can only be accessed when a worker turns 60.