Ranked: The World’s Largest Public Pension Funds
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Key Takeaways
- Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund is the world’s biggest public pension fund with nearly $2 trillion in assets
- The U.S. has several funds in the top 10, two of which are based in California
Public pension funds manage trillions of dollars on behalf of government workers, retirees, and taxpayers around the world.
To learn more about these behemoths, we’ve ranked the world’s 10 largest public pension funds (PPFs) by total assets under management (AUM), based on January 2025 data from Global SWF.
This data is also listed in the table below.
| Rank | Country | PPF | Year Est. | AUM ($B) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Japan |
Government Pension Investment Fund |
2006 | $1,585 |
| 2 |  USA |
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board |
1986 | $856 |
| 3 |  South Korea |
National Pension Service | 1988 | $827 |
| 4 |  Netherlands |
APG | 1922 | $617 |
| 5 | USA |
California Public Employees’ Retirement System |
1932 | $531 |
| 6 |  Canada |
Canada Pension Plan | 1997 | $472 |
| 7 |  China |
National Council for Social Security Fund |
2000 | $424 |
| 8 |  Singapore |
Central Provident Fund | 1955 | $413 |
| 9 | USA |
California State Teachers Retirement System |
1913 | $351 |
| 10 | Canada |
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec |
1965 | $329 |
Japan’s GPIF
The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is the world’s largest pool of retirement savings, with over $1.5 trillion in AUM.
It follows a strategic 50/50 allocation between equities and fixed income, allowing for a ±11% deviation to adapt to market conditions. Each asset class is further split evenly between domestic and foreign securities to ensure diversification.
According to Investopedia, the majority of the GPIF’s assets are passively invested.
U.S. Funds Claim Three Spots
Three U.S. pension funds appear in the global top 10:
- Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB)
- California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
- California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
The FRTIB oversees the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a defined-contribution program for federal employees and uniformed service members.
As their names suggest, CalPERS and CalSTRS are both based in California. These defined-benefit plans serve a broad range of public workers including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and state legislators.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
If you enjoyed this post, check out this graphic showing how many active funds beat the S&P 500 each year on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
The post Ranked: The World’s Largest Public Pension Funds appeared first on Visual Capitalist.
