Investments made by the Labor Pension Fund netted record gains of NT$478.5 billion (US$15.2 billion) last year, the Bureau of Labor Insurance (BOLI) said yesterday.
In a statement, the BOLI said the fund made a 12.6 percent return on investment last year, surpassing the previous high of 11.84 percent set in 2009.
Last year’s gains also exceeded the previous annual record of NT$283.7 billion from 2021, the Bureau of Labor Funds (BOLF) said, which manages the fund’s investments.
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Times
Based on current totals, more than half of the 12.72 million people enrolled in the fund would have their pensions boosted by more than NT$20,000, with 25.1 percent gaining more than NT$50,000.
The amount each person’s pension is topped up by depends on the length of enrollment and the premium rate, the BOLI said.
Information on how gains made last year have affected enrollees’ pensions was released yesterday, the BOLI said.
Workers could view the information through various channels, such as verifications through mobile phones, citizens’ digital certificates and online labor insurance certificates, the bureau said.
Alternatively, workers could also go to BOLI offices for information about their gains last year, the bureau said.
Beginning today, workers could also check changes to their pensions using ATM cards issued by Bank Land of Taiwan, E Sun Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, First Commercial Bank and Chunghwa Post, the BOLI said.
As of the end of last year, the combined value of the funds managed by the BOLF, including the new Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund and the Arrears Wage Payment Fund, totaled NT$719.37 billion, constituting a 12.8 percent annual rate of return.
The BOLF said that about 46 percent of the gains posted by these funds last year came from investments in the local stock market.
The TAIEX, the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s weighted index, soared 26.8 percent last year on the back of enthusiasm about artificial intelligence development and expectations that the US Federal Reserve would initiate a rate-cut cycle.
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