Taiwan's labor funds post record monthly gains in January

Taipei, March 2 (CNA) Taiwan's Bureau of Labor Funds on Monday reported record high monthly gains for January from funds that it manages, citing booming global financial markets.

The funds' accumulated gains, which reflect overall increases in the value of assets and investments, totaled NT$394.7 billion (US$12.57 billion) in January, smashing the previous record of NT$300.6 billion in October 2025, according to the bureau's data.

The January gains translated into a rate of return of 5.28 percent, the data showed.

Liu Li-ju (劉麗茹), deputy director of the bureau, told reporters Monday that the gains were driven by the surge in global financial markets, but she expected a smaller return on the labor funds in February, as the global financial markets are unlikely to sustain all of their January spike.

In January, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the Taiex, soared 10.70 percent, the MSCI World Index rose 2.96 percent, and the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index gained 0.94 percent.

According to the Bureau of Labor Funds, 57.04 percent of its investments were made overseas in January, while the remaining 42.96 percent were invested in the domestic market.

As of the end of January, the combined value of the funds managed by the bureau was NT$7.98 trillion, including the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund, and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund, according to the data.

The value of assets in the new Labor Pension Fund, launched in 2015, totaled NT$5.26 trillion as of the end of January, the highest of all, and its rate of return for January stood at 5.03 percent, the bureau said.

The Labor Retirement Fund, which has been in place since 1984, had about NT$1.07 trillion in assets as of the end of January, with a rate of return of 8.08 percent for the month, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Service Pension Fund said Monday that the Public Service Pension Fund, which it manages, recorded NT$61.48 billion in gains in January, equal to a rate of return of 5.11 percent.