Pension Funds Study 2026
The 26th edition of the pension fund study reveals numerous records. Following a year of strong equity market returns, coverage ratios at the end of 2025 reached levels rarely seen before. Private-sector pension funds nearly matched the peak they reached in 2021, while public-sector pension schemes even set new records.
High returns and full reserves expand differences in interest rates
The comfortable reserves enable an interest rate not seen in 25 years. On average, the funds passed on 4.7 percent to active insured persons. If we deduct the low inflation rate of 0.1 percent, a new record was realised here too: At 4.6 percent, the funds achieved their highest real interest rate since the study began in 2000.
In 2025, the funds passed on over three-quarters of their returns to insured persons.
Iwan Deplazes
Key insights from 2026
In 2025, 78% of the return generated was paid as interest to insured persons.
For 93% of the pension funds, annual performance is the primary criterion when setting interest rates.
Lump-sum payments, which account for a 51% share of total payouts, exceeded the sum of pension payments for the first time in 2025.
The average real interest rate for pension funds was 4.6% in 2025 – a level not seen in 25 years.
The top 10% of funds — those with the highest returns over a five-year period — paid interest to insured persons totalling 6.8% in 2025, while the bottom performers credited just 3.7%.
26 %-points: That is the interest differential between the top and bottom interest-payors over five years.
