Pension fund

A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.

Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and private companies. They are especially important to the stock market where large institutional investors dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold about USD$6 trillion in assets. In 2012, PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that pension funds worldwide hold over $33.9 trillion in assets (and were expected to grow to more than $56 trillion by 2020), the largest for any category of institutional investor ahead of mutual funds, insurance companies, currency reserves, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, or private equity.

The Federal Old-age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which oversees $2.66 trillion in assets, is the world's largest public pension fund.

Classifications

Open vs. closed pension fund

Open pension funds support at least one pension plan with no restriction on membership while closed pension funds support only pension plans that are limited to certain employees.

Closed pension funds are further subclassified into:
*Single employer pension funds
*Multi-employer pension funds
*Related member pension funds
*Individual pension funds

Public vs. private pension funds

A public pension fund is one that is regulated under public sector law while a private pension fund is regulated under private sector law.

In certain countries, the distinction between public or government pension funds and private pension funds may be difficult to assess. In others, the distinction is made sharply in law, with very specific requirements for administration and investment. For example, local governmental bodies in the United States are subject to laws passed by the states in which those localities exist, and these laws include provisions such as defining classes of permitted investments and a minimum municipal obligation.

Largest pension funds

The following table lists largest pension funds by total assets by the SWF Institute.

By country

Australia

Government

* Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (old scheme for federal civil servants)
* Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme (current scheme for Australian Defence Force personnel)
* Public Sector Superannuation accumulation plan (current scheme for federal civil servants)
* Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (old scheme for federal civil servants)
* State Super (for New South Wales state civil servants)

Industry (not-for-profit)

* AustralianSuper
* AustSafe Super
* CareSuper
* Cbus
* Energy Super
* FIRSTSUPER
* HESTA
* Hostplus
* legalsuper
* LUCRF Super
* Media Super
* MTAA Super (Spirit Super)
* NGS Super
* REI Super
* TWUSUPER
* UniSuper
* Retail Employees Superannuation Trust

Private

* ANZ Australian Staff Superannuation Scheme (for employees of ANZ Bank)

Brazil

* Aceprev
* Baneses
* Banesprev
* Centrus
* FAPES
* Forluz
* Funcef
* Fundação Banrisul
* Fundação CESP
* Fundação Itaubanco
* Petros
* PREVI - Caixa de Previdência dos Funcionários do Banco do Brasil (the closed private pension fund for employees of the Brazilian federal government-owned bank)
* Sistel
* Valia

Canada

Government

* Alberta Investment Management Corporation
* Alberta Pensions Services Corporation
* British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCIMC) 455
* Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
* Canada Pension Plan (investments directed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board)
* Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)
* Ontario Teachers Pension Plan
* Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
* Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments)
* OPSEU Pension Trust (OPTrust)
* Ontario Pension Board (OPB)
* TTC Pension Plan (TTCPP)
* University Pension Plan (UPP)

Private

* Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan (CAAT)
* Boilermakers Pension Fund Trust
* Labourers' Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada ( LIUNA)
* Teamsters Canadian Pension Plan
* Telecommunication Workers Pension Plan
* UFCW Canadian Pension Plan

Chile

* AFP Modelo
* Chile pension system

China

* – managed by National Council for Social Security Fund

Greece

Government

* Public Employees Pension Fund

Private

* TAPILTAT, the Fund for Mutual Assistance of the Employees of Ioniki Bank and Other Banks, the multi-employer auxiliary pension fund

Hong Kong

* Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme (MPF Schemes)
* Occupational Retirement Schemes (ORSO Schemes)

India

* Employees' Provident Fund Organisation – a statutory social security body of the Government of India that administers a mandatory Provident Fund Scheme, Pension Scheme and a death/disability Insurance Scheme. Provident Fund is applicable for employees across all establishments (private as well as government, subject to criteria). EPFO is the largest social security organisation in India with assets well over 5 lakh crore (US$159 billion) as of 2014.
* National Pension Scheme – a defined-contribution–based pension scheme launched by the Government of India open to all citizens of India on a voluntary basis and mandatory for the employees of central government (except Indian Armed Forces) who are appointed on or after 1 January 2004. Indian citizens between the age of 18 and 70 are eligible to join.

Japan

*See Japan Pension Service
* Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan (GPIF, 年金積立金管理運用独立行政法人)

Malaysia

* Employees Provident Fund (Malaysia's largest, total assets of around RM407 billion in diversified portfolio)

Morocco

* Caisse de dépôt et de gestion
* CMR

Nepal

* Employees Provident Fund Nepal

Netherlands

* Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (ABP)
* Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW, formerly PGGM)

Norway

* The Government Pension Fund - Global (Statens pensjonsfond - Utland)
* The Government Pension Fund - Norway (Statens pensjonsfond - Norge)

Romania

The pension system in Romania is made of three pillars. One is the state pension (Pillar I – Mandatory), the second is a private mandatory pension where the state transfers a percentage of the contribution it collects for the public pension, and the third is an optional private pension (Pillar III – Voluntary).

The Financial Supervisory Authority – Private Pension is responsible for the supervision and regulation of the private pension system.

Saudi Arabia

* Public Pension Agency (PPA)
* General Organization for Social Insurance

Serbia

*The pension system in Serbia is made of three pillars. One is the state pension (Pillar I – Mandatory), where every insured person is obliged to pay contributions from their paycheck, the second is a voluntary state pension, where an uninsured person is voluntarily included in state pension system, and the third is an optional private pension (Pillar III – Voluntary).
* Pension and disability insurance fund

Singapore

* Central Provident Fund

Switzerland

* Pension system in Switzerland

Turkey

Government

* Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu (Social Security Institution, SGK)

Social Security Institution was established by the Social Security Institution Law No:5502 which was published in the Official Gazette No: 26173 dated 20.06.2006 and brings the Social Insurance Institution, General Directorate of Bağ-kur and General Directorate of Emekli Sandığı whose historical development are summarized above under a single roof in order to transfer five different retirement regimes which are civil servants, contractual paid workers, agricultural paid workers, self-employers and agricultural self-employers into a single retirement regime that will offer equal actuarial rights and obligations.

Private

* Armed Forces Pension Fund
OYAK (Ordu Yardımlaşma Kurumu/Armed Forces Pension Fund) provides its members with "supplementary retirement benefits" apart from the official retirement fund, T.C.Emekli Sandığı/SSK, to which they are primarily affiliated.

In addition to the retirement benefit, OYAK pays "disability benefits" to the members on duty when they become partially or fully disabled as well as "death benefits" to the heirs of the deceased member if the death occurs during the member's subscription to the foundation.

OYAK is incorporated as a private entity under its own law subject to Turkish civic and commercial codes. OYAK, while fulfilling its legal duties, as set in the law, also provides its members with social services such as loans, home loans and retirement income systems.

The initial source of OYAK's funds is a compulsory 10 percent levy on the base salary of Turkey's 200,000 serving officers who, together with 25,000 current pensioners, make up OYAK's members.

Some other Turkish private pension funds:

* YAPI ve KREDİ BANKASI A.Ş. Mensupları Yardım ve Emekli Sandığı Vakfı
* AKBANK T.A.Ş. Mensupları Tekaüt Sandığı Vakfı
* TÜRKİYE GARANTİ BANKASI A.Ş. Memur ve Müstahdemleri Emekli ve Yardım Sandığı Vakfı
* TÜRKİYE ODALAR BORSALAR VE BİRLİK PERSONELİ SİGORTA VE EMEKLİ SANDIĞI VAKFI
* TÜRKİYE İŞ BANKASI A.Ş. Mensupları Emekli Sandığı Vakfı

United States

In the United States, pension funds include schemes which result in a deferral of income by employees, even if retirement income provision is not the intent. The United States has $19.1 trillion in retirement and pension assets ($9.1 trillion in private funds, $10 trillion in public funds) as of 31 December 2016. The largest 200 pension funds accounted for $4.540 trillion as of 30 September 2009.

Government

See also

*Global assets under management
* Pension insurance contract
* Pension regulation
* Qualifying registered overseas pension schemes
* Sovereign wealth fund

References

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Pensions
Pension funds

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