NPS Posts 18.8 Percent Return by Earning 231.6 Trillion Won in Investment Income in 2025

Infographics on NPS’s business performances for the year 2025. (Photos: NPS)

The National Pension Fund logged the best-ever fund management results since its inception in 1988.

The NPS Investment Management, a dedicated fund management arm of the National Pension Service (NPS), said on Feb. 27 the fund earned 231.6 trillion won in 2025, bringing the total assets under management to 1,458 trillion won.

Investment income earned for last year was 4.9 times more than 49.7 trillion won, the amount paid to pensioners by the fund during the period.

The fund achieved a preliminary money-weighted return of 18.82 percent, the best-ever achievement since its inception.

The return is higher compared to major overseas pension funds, such as Japan (GPIF·12.3 percent), Norway (GPFG·15.1 percent), the Netherlands (ABP·-1.6 percent), and Canada (CPPIB·7.7 percent).

By asset class, domestic equity returned 82.44 percent; overseas equity, 19.74 percent; domestic bonds, 0.84 percent; overseas bonds, 3.77 percent and alternative investment, 8.03 percent.

The highest achievement of the domestic equity was owed to bullish tech stocks’ rally, centering around AI and semiconductor shares, and expectations toward the government’s capital policies.

The Korean Stock Market (KOSPI) surged 75.63 percent during the period.

Domestic bonds earned a positive return rate after rising and falling as the economy recovered following two key interest rate declines.

Overseas bonds returned income with rising values, influenced by the declining U.S. benchmark rate on three occasions caused by fears over slowing of the economy.

The fund said the alternative investment return rate reflected an increase in the valuation of assets and realized gains.

NPS Chmn. & CEO Kim Sung-joo said, “The National Pension Fund achieved the best performance among global pension funds around the world last year, and the renewing of the best-ever record is owed to continuous infrastructure improvement, such as diversifying of asset allocation and improved performance compensation system on top of thorough asset management, particularly thanks to the surging of domestic equity.”

Chmn. & CEO Kim Sung-joo of the National Pension Service (NPS) poses with members of the “NPS AI Strategy Committee” at an inaugural session of the committee at NPS headquarters on March 11.

NPS Inaugurates ‘NPS AI Strategy Committee’ to Accelerate AI Work Innovation

The National Pension Service said on March 11 NPS held a ceremony to inaugurate “NPS AI Strategy Committee” and an inaugural meeting at NPS headquarters.

The committee is manned by a combined 21 members, including the NPS chairman and three outside members.

The committee is a top decision-making body in charge of deliberating and approving mid- and long-term plans and major projects.

It is also responsible for coordinating work among AI-related departments, inspecting execution, and overseeing outcome management.

The committee has five subcommittees – strategy management, manpower development, data, R&D and ethics and security.

NPS plans to implement AI strategies in a systematic and efficient fashion by allowing each subcommittee to review and execute specifics of project strategies.

NPS Chmn. Kim said, “With the inauguration of the NPS AI Strategy Committee in which outside experts participate, people will be allowed to utilize national pension services in an easy and convenient fashion and NPS officials will be able to handling difficult and complex work in a fast and precise manner, and NPS will spearhead on AI innovation in the public sector.”