MESSAGE CONCERNING YOUR PENSION FUND

The current staff-management dispute regarding the human resources framework of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, while essentially about contractual status and conditions of service, has brought forth perceptions, suggestions and possible misconceptions regarding certain potential risks to the safety of retiree benefits. Mindful of its core mission to represent the interests of its members, and by extension those of all United Nations system retirees, AFICS/NY has been actively involved with the issue since the first complaints from the staff associations became known earlier this year.

In recent months, the President and other members of the AFICS/NY leadership have maintained a continuous dialogue with the CEO and the management of the Pension Fund. In face to face meetings and in numerous email exchanges initiated by AFICS/NY, they have sought clarification of the Fund's actions. Without undue fanfare or stridency, they have stressed the Association's concerns about the stability of the Fund's operations, the security of its assets and the independence of its investment policies.

AFICS/NY has coordinated its action with the Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS), and provided information and advice on the issue. On 30 April, the President of FAFICS wrote to the CEO of the Fund emphasizing the Federation's concern about the effect the dispute was having on the serenity of the retirees' dealings with the Pension Fund, and insisting that any proposed changes in the human resources framework of the Fund should be fully considered in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board.

Representatives of AFICS/NY have participated in recent meetings of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee where the human resources issue and the plans for its consideration in the coming session of the Pension Board, scheduled for July 2014, have been discussed.

Although AFICS/NY would not presume to suggest to its members how they should react to any statement, petition or letter that may be circulated to them, it has, in thorough discussions in its Governing Board and its Committee on Pension Matters, developed certain points that it believes are worth stressing.

  • There should be full compliance with the General Assembly's request, made in its resolution 68/247, that the Pension Board complete its review of the policies governing the recruitment, promotion and retention of the staff of the Fund and report to it on the outcome and on any measures proposed. All parties in the Pension Board should strive to develop a harmonious position to present to the next session of the General Assembly, with a view to avoiding any more uncertainty or possible instability.

  • While AFICS/NY recognizes that some measure of delegation of authority, and administrative flexibility, is necessary for the operations of the Pension Fund, this should be framed in a system of checks and balances that safeguards both the independence of the Fund and the rights of its staff.
  • The independence of the Investment Management Division should be maintained. There should be no structural changes that could make its staff feel insecure and possibly lead to distortions in the investment policy.
  • Retirees should be able to feel that their pensions remain safe and that the assets of the Fund are not endangered by plans to modify its structure. Retirees and participants are the parties most concerned with any developments affecting the Fund, and they should be fully consulted before any changes are made. Retirees can only make their views known collectively through associations like AFICS/NY and through the FAFICS delegation in the Pension Board. This last circumstance makes it essential for retirees that the human resources issue be properly considered in the Pension Board, where their representatives can defend their interests.

Linda Saputelli

President

29 May 2014