Kazakhstan's National Bank Explains Temporary Pension Fund Losses Due to Tenge Strengthening

Some citizens of Kazakhstan have recently observed a temporary decrease in the balances of their accounts with the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF). The reported reductions varied, with some individuals noting amounts between 50,000 and 150,000 tenge missing from their statements.

One depositor reported that on April 9th, they discovered a shortfall of approximately 90,000 tenge. By the following day, this apparent loss had increased to nearly 150,000 tenge. However, five days later, the account balance partially recovered by about 60,000 tenge. Another individual expressed concern as their account balance fell below their personal sufficiency threshold by around 50,000 tenge in April. This situation complicated their plans to use pension savings above this threshold for purposes like paying down a mortgage.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has provided an official explanation for these fluctuations. According to the regulator, the temporary negative figures in investment income are linked to the recent strengthening of the national currency.

"From January to March 2026, the tenge exchange rate strengthened against the US dollar from 505.53 to 478.77 tenge," stated the National Bank. "This led to a negative currency revaluation of foreign currency assets, which constitute 38.9 percent of the investment portfolio."

The central bank clarified that nearly half of the UAPF's investment assets are held in foreign currencies like the US dollar. When the tenge appreciates against these currencies, it creates an accounting loss on paper for those assets when their value is converted back into tenge for reporting purposes.

The National Bank characterized this phenomenon as a "temporary unrealized reduction in income." In simpler terms, these are not actual cash losses but rather temporary valuation fluctuations on account statements that occur as long as the foreign currency assets are not sold and converted into tenge.