The National Pension Service is set to post a record annual return of around 20 percent this year, marking the highest performance since the system was launched in 1988.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said preliminary December figures show the return surpasses last year’s 15 percent, driven largely by strong gains in domestic and overseas equities.

Of all types of assets, domestic stocks posted the highest return at about 78 percent, followed by overseas stocks at roughly 25 percent, alternative investments at around eight percent, overseas bonds at seven percent, and domestic bonds at about one percent.

The strong investment performance lifted the pension fund’s total assets to an estimated one-point-473 quadrillion won as of December, or over one trillion U.S. dollars — up about 260 trillion won from the end of last year.

The increase alone amounts to nearly six times the 44 trillion won paid out in pension benefits last year, underscoring the scale of the fund’s growth.

Separately, revisions to the National Pension Act will raise the contribution rate to nine-point-five percent and the income replacement rate to 43 percent from next year, applying only to future contributions.