September 1, 2026 (InvestinChina.asia) — The National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF) on Tuesday released the National Social Security Fund 2025 Annual Report, disclosing an investment gain of 390.672 billion yuan (approx. US$54.7 billion) for the year, with an investment return rate of 13.22%.
The result marks one of the strongest annual performances in the fund’s history. Since its inception, the fund has delivered an average annual investment return of 7.62%, with cumulative investment gains reaching 2.291679 trillion yuan.
Assets Cross 3.8 Trillion Yuan
As of end-2025, the fund’s total assets stood at 3.808373 trillion yuan. Of this, directly invested assets amounted to 1.020923 trillion yuan, accounting for 26.81% of the total, while entrusted investment assets reached 2.78745 trillion yuan, or 73.19%.
By geography, domestic investments totaled 3.228354 trillion yuan (84.77% of assets), and overseas investments stood at 580.019 billion yuan (15.23%). Total fund equity reached 3.346625 trillion yuan, comprising 1.273473 trillion yuan in cumulative net fiscal allocations and 2.073152 trillion yuan in cumulative investment appreciation.
Breakdown of 2025 Performance
Of the 390.672 billion yuan in 2025 investment income, realized gains totaled 192.261 billion yuan (a realized return rate of 7.01%), while fair-value changes on trading assets contributed 198.411 billion yuan.
In 2025, net fiscal allocations to the fund amounted to 61.822 billion yuan, including 20 billion yuan from the general public budget, 41.784 billion yuan from lottery public welfare funds, and 38 million yuan from cash proceeds of state-share reductions and transfers.
A Strategic Reserve Built for an Aging Society
The National Social Security Fund is a national strategic reserve fund for social security, established by the State Council to supplement and reconcile social security expenditures such as pension insurance during the peak period of population aging. It is funded through central fiscal budget allocations, state capital transfers, investment returns, and other channels approved by the State Council, and is managed and operated by the NCSSF under the National Social Security Fund Regulations promulgated in 2016.
The fund operates under the principles of long-term, value and responsible investing, combining direct investment with entrusted investment. Direct investments — managed in-house by the council — mainly cover bank deposits, trust loans, equity investments, equity investment funds, transferred state shares and index-based stock investments. Entrusted investments, managed by external investment managers and custodied by selected custodians, primarily span domestic and overseas equities, bonds, securities investment funds, and offshore derivatives for risk management.
Riding the Equity Rally
In its report, the NCSSF stated that it remains firmly optimistic about the prospects of China’s capital markets and continues to play the role of long-term capital and patient capital, making investment decisions from a long-cycle perspective.
Throughout 2025, the fund focused on the frontier of the market, strengthened analysis and judgment, enriched its secondary asset allocation framework, and systematically empowered investment decision-making. It actively served national strategies by increasing investment in the technology innovation sector, successfully capturing the upward momentum in tech-related boards. Simultaneously, it closely tracked global capital market dynamics, seized opportunities in overseas markets, optimized the structure of its overseas asset portfolio, and reinforced cross-border risk prevention and control.
The combination of a buoyant domestic equity market — particularly in technology and innovation names — and disciplined allocation across global markets drove the fund’s double-digit return for the year.
A Cornerstone of China’s Social Safety Net
As China confronts the fiscal pressures of a rapidly aging population, the fund’s ability to generate stable, above-threshold returns has taken on heightened significance. With total equity now exceeding 3.3 trillion yuan and cumulative investment gains surpassing 2.29 trillion yuan, the fund has demonstrated that prudent, long-horizon investing can meaningfully expand the country’s social security war chest without relying solely on fiscal transfers.
The 2025 results reinforce the NCSSF’s mandate under the Regulations: to manage the fund prudently and steadily, adhering to the principles of safety, profitability and long-term orientation, while allocating assets rationally across fixed-income, equity and unlisted equity categories within State Council-approved limits.
The council said it will continue to give full play to its role as long-term and patient capital, further deepen research-driven allocation, and safeguard the fund’s value for the generations of retirees it is ultimately designed to serve.