Public pension funds are a crucial pillar of society. Managed on behalf of government employees, retirees, and beneficiaries, these funds ensure that government employees have a source of income in retirement.
Public Pension Funds are established by governmental entities and have the primary goal of generating returns that will fund pension payments and keep the fund financially sound. These funds can also assist governments in attracting and retaining qualified employees, contributing to the overall effectiveness and efficiency of public services.
Therefore, the total assets of these funds represent a crucial metric in assessing their health. The scale, coupled with effective management by the entity, plays a pivotal role in generating income to finance the pension payments and guarantee its sustainability.
Here’s the list of the public pension funds in the world by Total Assets (AUM) for 2024:
Public Pension Fund | Total Assets1 (AUM) | Date Reported | Region |
Social Security Trust Fund Investment | $2.86 trillion | September, 2023 | United States |
Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) | $1.50 trillion* | September, 2023 | Japan |
Military Retirement Fund | $1.28 trillion | September, 2022 | United States |
Federal Employees Retirement System | $1.14 billion | November, 2022 | United States |
Caisse des Dépôts | $1.12 trillion** | December, 2022 | France |
National Pension Service of Korea | $743 billion*** | June, 2023 | South Korea |
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board | $737 billion | December, 2022 | United States |
Central Provident Fund | $548 billion | May, 2023 | Singapore |
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) | $546 billion | March, 2023 | Canada |
Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP | $477 billion**** | October, 2023 | Netherlands |
California Public Employees Retirement System | $467 billion | November, 2023 | United States |
Zenkyoren | $433 billion***** | March, 2023 | Japan |
Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec | $320 billion****** | June, 2023 | Canada |
California State Teachers Retirement System | $317 billion | November, 2023 | United States |
With $2.86 trillion in total assets, the Social Security Trust Fund Investment from the U.S. is the largest public pension fund, followed by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) from Japan, with total assets amounting to $1.49 trillion.
It’s worth noting that we have three funds with assets above $1 trillion, highlighting the significance of these funds in the U.S. These three funds cover traditional social security, military retirement, and federal employee retirement.
The Social Security Trust Fund Investment is overseen by the Social Security Trust Administration (SSA) and was created with the mission of ensuring equity and accessibility in delivering Social Security (SS) services. In the fiscal year of 2023, the fund distributed more than $1.4 trillion to the beneficiaries of this system. This money primarily came through tax revenues, which amounted to $1.2 trillion.
Government Pension Investment Fund manage (GIPF) over $1.49 trillion as of September 2023. GIPF is an incorporated administrative agency (an independent administrative institution) established by the Japanese government with the primary goal of achieving the investment returns required for the public pension system with minimal risks in a long-term perspective.
The Military Retirement Fund is managed by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), which is part of the U.S. Department of Defense. The fund provides benefits for military members’ retirement from active duty and the reserves, disability retirement benefits, and survivor benefits. As of September 2022, the fund had total assets amounting to $1.28 trillion.
The Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) is the retirement system for employees within the United States civil service. Although FERS is a retirement system that targets the needs of the Federal workforce, many of its features are portable if the beneficiaries leave Federal employment. As of November 2022, FERS managed $1.14 trillion in total assets.
The Caisse des Dépôts is a French public sector financial institution created as part of the government institutions. It serves as the investment arm of the French State, aiming to serve the public interest as a long-term investor. As of December 2022, the fund under the administration of the Caisse des Dépôts has total assets amounting to $1.12 trillion.
The National Pension Service of Korea is South Korea’s public pension fund. Established in 1987, its primary objective is to secure the retirement benefits of Korean citizens, ensuring income security and promoting national welfare in cases of retirement, disability, or death. As of September 2023, the fund’s total assets amounted to $738 billion.
The Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a mandatory social security savings scheme from Singapore funded by contributions from employers and employees. The CPF serves as a key pillar of Singapore’s social security system and is designed to meet retirement, housing, and healthcare needs. As of May 2023, the funds managed an amount of assets equal to $548 billion.
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a social insurance plan funded by the contributions of employees, employers, and self-employed individuals, along with the revenue earned on CPP investments. As of March 2023, the fund had total assets invested amounting to $546 billion, benefiting more than 21 million individuals across the country.
Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (“National Civil Pension Fund”), commonly known as ABP, is the pension fund for government and education employees in the Netherlands. As of October 2023, the fund managed over $477 billion in assets with over 3 million participants in the pension scheme.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is an agency in California that manages pensions and health benefits for more than 1.5 million public employees in the state. This is an example of a local public pension plan, but even though it is local, it holds a significant amount of assets, equivalent to $467 billion.
A Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is an institutional investor that manages the Pension Plan of Québec, created by the Canadian Government. Its purpose is to provide individuals who have worked in Québec and their families with basic financial protection in the event of retirement, death, or disability. As of June 2023, the fund administered $320 billion in assets.
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for California’s community college educators and their families. As of November 2023, CalSTRS managed a portfolio worth $317 billion.
Bottom Line
The Total Assets (AUM) are a crucial indicator for public pension funds as they directly influence revenue generation for their intended purposes. These funds typically aim to provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to a specific community or the general public. Therefore, the larger the fund, the greater its nominal revenue, and the more easily payouts can be made.
In this article, we ranked the world’s largest public pension funds based on their total assets. Notably, most of the featured funds are from the U.S. As we can see, they have a lot of regional and specific target public pension funds, highlighting their importance.
Whether you qualify for one of these funds and have uncertainties, or if you simply have questions about this type of fund, we hope to have helped you with the information provided.
1All total assets (AUM) are denominated in US dollars (USD).