The stock market is filled with negative news, and labor retirement funds are suffering significant losses. Due to the impact of the U.S. equivalent tariff policy and turbulence in international financial markets, Taiwan's stock market fell over 2,000 points in April, dragging down labor pension and labor insurance funds simultaneously. The Ministry of Labor announced on June 2nd the latest performance data of the labor funds, citing a single-month loss of NT$134.9 billion in April, expanding the cumulative loss for the first four months of 2025 to NT$199 billion, yielding an overall return rate of -2.9%.

According to statistics from the Labor Fund Utilization Bureau, the new labor pension fund incurred the greatest loss, with a single-month loss of NT$130.54 billion. Approximately 12.92 million accounts were affected, which means an average loss of about NT$10,103 per worker. The old labor pension and labor insurance funds recorded yield rates of -3.91% and -3.31% respectively in April.

Including the National Pension Insurance Fund and the Farmers' Retirement Fund, the total fund size reaches NT$7.717 trillion, with a cumulative loss of NT$221.5 billion and an average return rate of -2.98%. The Labor Fund Utilization Bureau attributes the loss primarily to the U.S. announcing unexpectedly high equivalent tariffs in early April, which triggered global market panic and raised concerns about economic recession risks among investors, alongside the historic one-day plunge in the stock market, which drastically reduced overall returns. Additionally, the labor fund portfolio is diversified with a roughly 50-50 allocation between domestic and international assets, making it susceptible to exchange rate fluctuations.

Further commentary by the Labor Fund Utilization Bureau indicated that market performance stabilized somewhat in May, with the stock market rebounding 1,112 points, representing a monthly increase of 5.5%, which helped alleviate the downturn. However, the NT dollar appreciated 2.088 against the U.S. dollar in May, potentially putting pressure on overseas investment returns, which will require observation of exchange rate changes in the short term. Nevertheless, the fund is intended for long-term investment, and short-term fluctuations do not detract from overall performance, as the long-term average exchange rate remains a stable reference point.

In response to public concerns about the notion that “every person loses NT$10,000 on average,” the Labor Fund Utilization Bureau explained that actual benefit distribution is based on each worker's contributions and years of service, thus not all individuals will incur losses of NT$10,000 or more. Furthermore, the new labor pension scheme incorporates a “minimum guarantee mechanism,” ensuring returns do not fall below the interest rate of a 2-year time deposit. Over the past decade, the new labor pension scheme has achieved an average annual return rate of 6.03%, showcasing stable long-term performance. The public need not worry excessively about short-term fluctuations.