Last year, pension funds around the world returned an average positive investment rate of return of 6.6 per cent, according to research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The survey examined the performance of pension funds in OECD countries.

Australian superannuation funds returned better than the OECD average, posting about a 13 per cent return.

The best performing pension funds were Chile (25 per cent), Hungary (22 per cent), the Netherlands (18 per cent) and Turkey (17.1 per cent).

Countries including the Czech Republic and Korea had the lowest performing pension funds, with an average investment rate of return of under 5 per cent.

Australian pension funds had the largest weighting towards equities than other pensions funds in the OECD countries.

Australian superannuation funds have on average more than 50 per cent allocated to equities, compared with the Netherlands and Hungary whose pension funds were more weighted towards bills and bonds.

Despite the positive investment return, the effects of the financial and economic crisis on public and private pension systems are still very visible, OECD head of financial affairs division Andre Laboul said.

"The investment losses suffered in 2008 have not been fully recuperated yet," he said.

According to the OECD research, pension funds have made up US$1.5 trillion of the US$3.5 trillion decline in the market value of assets experienced in 2008.