Total pension fund assets in the 22 largest global markets rose to a record $56.6 trillion as of the end of 2021, up from $52.9 trillion the previous year, according to new research from WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute.

The 2022 “Global Pension Assets Study” estimates that the $56.6 trillion in pension assets accounts for 76% of the gross domestic products of the 22 economies, which consist of 21 countries and Hong Kong. It also said total pension assets have nearly doubled in the past decade, from $29.3 trillion in 2011.

The study found that pension market concentration has increased, and that the US continues to be largest pension market, with estimated total pension assets of just over $35 trillion. The UK and Japan are a distant second and third with $3.86 trillion and $3.68 trillion, respectively. Combined, the three markets account for more than 75% of all pension assets worldwide. And the seven largest markets for pension assets—Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and the US—account for a combined 92% of the 22 largest markets.

“Pensions are becoming better funded in many countries but have also been subject to the growth in value of financial markets,” Marisa Hall, co-head of the Thinking Ahead Institute, said in a statement. “High valuations imply financial security but also pose difficult questions about future allocations—and will encourage many pension schemes to continue looking beyond the traditional asset classes in order to maintain returns.”

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