U UAPF on the use of pension savings
Over the past five and a half years, more than 5.8 trillion tenge of pension savings have been used to improve housing conditions and pay for medical treatment.
The most significant withdrawals occurred in 2021 – approximately 2.6 trillion tenge. While there was a decrease in 2022-2023, the volume of withdrawals has increased in recent years, exceeding 1 trillion tenge in 2025.
As a reminder, the Head of State emphasized that the main goal of the pension system is pension provision, and "our goal is not to give away all savings now, leaving people without a decent pension in old age."
Year |
Transferred by the UAPF to authorized operators for crediting to special accounts of applicants for the purposes of: | |
Improve housing conditions (amount, million tenge) |
Pay for medical treatment (amount, million tenge) | |
2021 |
2,468,085 |
126,542 |
2022 |
703,232 |
192,391 |
2023 |
170,905 |
100,386 |
2024 |
396,683 |
173,875 |
2025 |
824,360 |
391,733 |
From 01.01.2026 to 31.05.26 (as of 01.06.2026) |
318,206 |
333 |
Throughout these years, the amounts withdrawn significantly exceeded the amounts allocated to the immediate objective of providing pensions to citizens.
Furthermore, in some years, withdrawals exceeded incoming contributions.
The withdrawal of savings from investment also leads to an increase in lost investment income. In the long term, this will lead to a significant reduction in savings at retirement age.
It should be noted that in Kazakhstan, the share of accumulated investment income in contributors' pension savings is growing and currently stands at approximately 40%, while in international practice, it typically exceeds 80%.
In developed countries, pension assets are a source of investment and sustainable economic growth. In advanced countries, accumulated pension assets exceed 100% of GDP; in Kazakhstan, pension assets currently account for approximately 16% of GDP.
Globally, the primary objective of the funded pension system is to ensure future pension benefits. Therefore, it is important to preserve pension savings for the benefit of citizens' future pensions and their further growth through long-term investments in Kazakhstan and international markets.