The Largest Pension Funds in the World
Norway's Government Pension Fund Global is the largest pension fund in the world at roughly $1.77 trillion as of 2026, ahead of Japan's GPIF. The ten largest together manage about $8.4 trillion.
World's largest: Norway's GPFG (~$1.77T) · Top 10 combined: ~$8.4T · 10 funds · 8 countries
The largest pension funds in the world are the national and public retirement systems that invest the savings of entire countries and states. As of 2026, Norway's Government Pension Fund Global leads at roughly $1.77 trillion, having overtaken Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund; together the ten largest hold about $8.4 trillion.
The ranking below orders these funds by assets under management (AUM), drawn from each fund's most recent published report or official disclosure. They are among the most influential allocators in private markets: the biggest deploy capital across public equities, fixed income, real estate, infrastructure, and private equity. Every fund links to its Altss profile, where coverage and activity are tracked.
Largest pension funds by AUM
As of each fund's latest public report, 2025–2026
| # | Fund | AUM (USD) | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Government Pension Fund Global (Norway)Structured as a sovereign wealth fund; ranked the world's largest pension fund by the Thinking Ahead Institute | $1.77T | Oslo, Norway |
| 2 | Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)Japan's national public pension reserve — long the world's largest | $1.73T | Tokyo, Japan |
| 3 | National Pension Service (NPS)South Korea's national pension | ~$1.0T | Jeonju, South Korea |
| 4 | Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)US federal employees' plan — passed $1 trillion in 2025 | ~$1.0T | Washington, D.C., United States |
| 5 | CPP Investments (CPPIB)Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, fiscal 2025 | $714B | Toronto, Canada |
| 6 | CalPERSCalifornia Public Employees' Retirement System — largest US public pension (June 2025) | $563B | Sacramento, United States |
| 7 | Stichting Pensioenfonds ABPDutch civil-service and education pension | $530B | Heerlen, Netherlands |
| 8 | CalSTRSCalifornia State Teachers' Retirement System — the world's largest educator-only pension | $417B | West Sacramento, United States |
| 9 | Employees Provident Fund (EPF)Malaysia's national provident fund (RM1.41T) | $355B | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| 10 | New York State Common Retirement FundThird-largest US public pension (fiscal year to March 2026) | $295B | Albany, United States |
AUM figures are drawn from each fund's most recent public report or official disclosure (2025–2026) and converted to USD at recent exchange rates. Pension assets move with markets and currency, so figures are point-in-time. Bars show relative size.
Four trends shaping the top of the table
Norway overtakes Japan
The Government Pension Fund Global passed Japan's GPIF to become the world's largest pension fund, ending more than two decades of Japanese leadership. Norway's fund is structured as a sovereign wealth fund but invests the nation's pension reserve, and the Thinking Ahead Institute ranks it first.
A record $24.4 trillion
The 300 largest pension funds reached an all-time high of roughly $24.4 trillion in assets in 2025, and the 20 largest alone manage more than $10 trillion — over 40% of the total. Growth has been driven by strong public-market returns and continued net inflows.
The shift into private markets
The biggest funds keep raising allocations to private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate, chasing returns and diversification beyond public markets. This makes them the anchor limited partners (LPs) that fund managers most want to reach.
Defined contribution joins the top
The US Thrift Savings Plan, a defined-contribution plan for federal employees, passed $1 trillion in 2025 — joining the defined-benefit giants at the top of the table and underlining the scale of pooled retirement savings in the US.
How the largest pension funds invest
The funds at the top of this ranking run globally diversified portfolios. A typical mix spans public equities and fixed income as the core, with growing sleeves in private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure. Norway's fund is unusual in remaining almost entirely in listed equities, bonds, and real estate; most of the North American plans (CPP Investments, CalPERS, CalSTRS) carry double-digit allocations to private markets.
For fund managers, that allocation shift is the story: the largest pension funds are among the most sought-after limited partners in private equity and private credit. Understanding each fund's mandate, cycle, and decision-makers is central to raising institutional capital — which is what Altss tracks across 150,000+ institutional entities.
How this ranking is built
Altss ranks pension funds by assets under management sourced from each fund's own published report or official statement — not self-reported surveys. Figures are converted to USD at recent exchange rates and refreshed as new reports are published. This page was last reviewed in July 2026.
For managers raising institutional capital, each fund's profile tracks coverage, mandate activity, and personnel where publicly observable.
Largest pension funds — questions
What is the largest pension fund in the world?
What is the largest pension fund in the United States?
Which country has the largest pension savings?
Are pension funds larger than sovereign wealth funds?
How are these pension funds ranked?
How much do the largest pension funds manage in total?
Where does Altss get pension fund data?
Sources
Figures are drawn from each fund's own reports and the following authoritative sources.
Thinking Ahead Institute — World's Largest Pension Funds 2025
Annual study ranking the 300 largest pension funds by assets.
WTW — Top pension funds reach all-time global record
Analysis of the record $24.4T held by the 300 largest funds.
New York State Comptroller — Common Retirement Fund
Official reporting for the New York State pension fund.
Raising from institutional allocators?
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