Samsung Asset Management Selected as the First Dedicated Management Institution for Dropout Pension Funds Among Asset Management Firms

Dedicated Management Until August 2026
Highly Rated for Over 20 Years of Accumulated OCIO Management Experience

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Samsung Asset Management has been selected as the dedicated management institution for the Small and Medium Enterprise Retirement Pension Fund (SME Retirement Fund) for the first time.

Samsung Asset Management announced on the 25th that it received a notification of "qualification" from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service in the evaluation of eligibility as the preferred negotiation candidate for the dedicated management institution of the SME Retirement Fund. Accordingly, Samsung Asset Management will be responsible for managing the SME Retirement Fund until the end of August 2026.

The SME Retirement Fund is a new public retirement benefit system established under the amendment to the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, which came into effect in April this year. It allows the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service to create and operate a joint fund from contributions paid by employers and employees of small and medium enterprises with fewer than 30 employees, and to pay retirement benefits to workers.

The SME retirement pension system accumulates retirement pay annually in the employee's retirement pension account, similar to the defined contribution (DC) type retirement pension, but instead of the employee managing it directly, external professional institutions and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service pool and manage the fund.

The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, the responsible agency, selected Samsung Asset Management as the first dedicated management institution to efficiently manage and operate the retirement benefit reserves. The SME Retirement Pension Fund is expected to grow to approximately 1.79 million subscribers and about 11 trillion KRW by 2026.

Within the industry, it is interpreted that Samsung Asset Management received the qualification notification in recognition of its over 20 years of rich management experience since launching Korea's first public fund as well as outsourced management of private funds (OCIO) in 2001, and its achievements as a leading retirement pension management company.

Oh Tae-ho, Head of OCIO Consulting Division at Samsung Asset Management, stated, "While the retirement pension subscription rate for workplaces with more than 300 employees is 91%, the subscription rate for small and medium enterprises with fewer than 30 employees is only 24%. Moreover, the operation is mainly focused on principal-guaranteed products, showing a return rate in the 1% range, which means preparation for retirement through pension systems is insufficient." He added, "Samsung Asset Management will establish a foundation for long-term subscription by improving the stable returns of the SME Retirement Pension Fund."