This OECD report shows that pension fund assets dropped in value in 2018. Preliminary data for 2018 show that pension fund assets amounted to USD 27.6 billion in the OECD area, almost 4% less than in 2017. Calculated in domestic legal tender, pension fund assets decreased in 12 of the 34 OECD countries that submitted reports, including some of the largest pension markets: Japan (-1.1%), The Netherlands (-1.2%), Switzerland (-0.7%), United States (-0.3%) and the United States (-5.0%). Poland experienced the most significant decrease of -12.3%.

The drop in asset values reflects the negative real return on investments in 2018. Pension funds suffered financial losses in real terms in 20 of the 25 OECD countries that submitted reports. The lowest investment return rates were observed in Hong Kong (China) (-11.6%), Poland (-11.6%) and Turkey (-11.3%).