Preface

The Bureau of Labor Fund Management announced today, April 1st, the current state of labor fund utilization. As of the end of March in the 114th year, the overall labor fund scaled a total of NT$7 trillion 2,358 billion. Due to the turbulences in the global financial market in March, the evaluated earnings reached a deficit of NT$64.1 billion, with a rate of return of -0.94%. This marks the second consecutive month of losses following a slight deficit in February, with March alone accounting for a loss of NT$171.6 billion. Key insights into the reasons and implications of these figures will be explored thoroughly.

Lazy bag

The Labor Fund Management Bureau's report reveals that different fund attributes and regulatory restrictions lead to varying investment outcomes. Investment performance differs among funds: new Labor Pension's -0.74%, old Labor Pension's -1.88%, and others facing varying returns.

Main Body

In a detailed account, the Bureau of Labor Fund Management has provided insight into their recent fiscal evaluations. The review highlights that the global financial market volatility has inflicted a significant economic impact, leading to a considerable deficit for labor funds measured at NT$64.1 billion by March end. The overall return rate, quantified at -0.94%, is reflective of broader market instability.

The labor funds in question vary in investment returns due to intrinsic differences in regulations and attributes. The New Labor Retire Fund, scaled at NT$4 trillion 7,946 billion, observed a return rate of -0.74%, while the Old Labor Retire Fund, sized at NT$1 trillion 802 billion, succumbed to a -1.88% rate. Moreover, the Labor Insurance Fund, with a scale of NT$1 trillion 1,255 billion, showed a rate of -1.44%. However, some funds, such as the Employment Insurance Fund with NT$178.7 billion, recorded a positive rate of 1.13%.

The Ministry of Labor's statistics disclose that, as of February end in the 114th year, there were 10.453 million labor insurance insured individuals, highlighting the vast number affected by these shifts.

Managed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Pension Insurance Fund culminated in NT$605 billion with a return of -1.62%. The Farmers' Retirement Fund, managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and holding a higher domestic investment allocation, showed significant susceptibility to market fluctuations with a return of -3.73%.

March's financial market performance reveals that while the U.S. job market and inflation data remained stable, persistent tariff trade war issues exacerbated market expectations of U.S. stagnation inflation, increasing concerns about U.S. economic prospects impacting international financial market investment sentiments. Declining consumer confidence in the U.S. further pressured high-risk asset performance.

Domestically, the Taiwan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) saw slight expansions due to increasing AI demand but was hindered by new U.S. government tariff policy announcements by month's end. Consequently, on March 31st, Taiwan stocks plummeted over 900 points in a single day, spreading panic and disturbing market performance. Globally, March's major financial markets faced growing trade conflicts, unclear economic prospects, and ongoing geopolitical tensions, with Taiwan's and Philadelphia Semiconductor's indices dropping over 10% respectively.

Despite short-term market volatility affecting current-year performance, long-term investment performance remains robust. Over more than a decade (104-114.03), the overall Labor Fund yielded an average return rate of 6.41%, while the National Insurance Fund averaged 6.85%, affirming the steady performance in long-term investments.

Key Insights Table