EPF Jumps To 11th In Global Pension Rankings As Investment Income Surges 48%
Malaysia’s EPF has climbed to 11th place among the world’s top 300 pension funds – but the more telling figure is what sits beneath the ranking: investment income of RM57.5 billion in the first half of 2026, nearly half as much as the same period last year, driven by a global equity rally that the fund’s own chief executive warns may not last.
Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has climbed to 11th place among the world’s top 300 pension funds.
The ranking comes from the Global Top 300 Pension Funds report, published by the Thinking Ahead Institute on 7 September in association with Pensions & Investments.
EPF placed 11th among both the world’s top pension funds and top sovereign pension funds, with total assets under management (AUM) of USD347,037 million – about RM1.4 trillion.
EPF’s AUM has climbed steadily over the years, reaching RM1.53 trillion as of June 2026.
Here’s the year-by-year breakdown:
June 2026: RM1.53 trillion (+8.97%)
2025: RM1.404 trillion (+12.32%)
2024: RM1.25 trillion (+9.65%)
2023: RM1.14 trillion (+14%)
2022: RM1 trillion (-0.99%)
2021: RM1.01 trillion (+1.2%)
The dip between 2021 and 2022 was largely due to RM145 billion in withdrawals under four Covid-19-era schemes – i-Lestari, i-Sinar, i-Citra, and the special withdrawal scheme (Pengeluaran Khas).
Investment income for 2Q 2026 came in at RM29.77 billion, up 44% from RM20.61 billion a year earlier.
That brought total investment income for the first half of 2026 to RM57.5 billion, up 48% from RM38.92 billion in the same period last year.
Equities accounted for the bulk of gains, contributing RM20.94 billion – 70% of the quarter’s investment income – up 52% from RM13.77 billion a year earlier.
Fixed income added RM6.91 billion, real estate and infrastructure RM1.30 billion, and money market instruments RM620 million.
EPF chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said the fund had capitalised on strong global equity markets while maintaining a disciplined, long-term investment approach.
He cautioned that members should temper expectations, as the favourable market conditions seen in the first half of the year may not be repeated in the second half.
EPF’s total investment assets stood at RM1.54 trillion as of end-June, with 39% invested globally.
Membership also grew, with 441,850 new members added in the first half of 2026, bringing total membership to 18.5 million. Total contributions for the quarter rose 8.5% year-on-year to RM33.87 billion.
Dividend Track Record
EPF’s conventional savings dividend averaged around 5.88% over the past five years.
The report found that AUM among the top 20 funds grew 14.7% in 2025, compared to 13.4% for the top 300 funds overall.
The top 20 pension funds recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% over the past five years, against 5% for the top 300.
The United States accounted for 38.9% of the top 300 funds by count, followed by Japan at 9.5% and Norway at 7.9%.
Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP), which manages retirement savings for Malaysia’s public-sector employees, was the only other Malaysian fund on the list, ranking 136th with an AUM of USD48.95 billion – about RM198 billion.
