South Korean retirement pension returns fell sharply in the third quarter as a stock-market correction reversed gains from the first-half rally. Non-principal-guaranteed products in the defined contribution plans of 11 brokerages returned 14.46% cumulatively at the end of the third quarter, down from 52.85% at the end of the second quarter. Returns in individual retirement pensions fell to 14.19% from 46.97%, while defined benefit plans declined to 3.86% from 11.35%. Total retirement pension assets held by 43 operators dropped 11.7565 trillion won, or 2.1%, from the end of June to 542.1214 trillion won, marking the first quarter-end decline since the first quarter of 2020. Individual retirement pensions and defined contribution plans, where subscribers select investments, accounted for 59.5% of assets at the end of the second quarter. Their exposure to equity-linked products increased through bond-mixed exchange-traded funds and target date funds, which were hit as share prices fell after July. Target date funds posted an average third-quarter return of minus 7.8%, compared with 18.2% in the previous quarter. Kiwoom Securities researcher Kim Jin-young said pension investors should prioritize long-term asset allocation and risk tolerance over short-term market leaders.