The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund is a fund established by the General Assembly of the United Nations to provide retirement, death, disability and related benefits for the staff of the United Nations and the other organizations admitted to membership in the Fund.
As an independent inter-agency entity, the Fund operates under its own Regulations as approved by the General Assembly and, in accordance with its governance structure, is administered by the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, which currently consists of 33 members, representing the 25 member organizations.
The Fund has offices in New York (United States) and Geneva (Switzerland) and two liaison offices, one in Nairobi (Kenya) and one in Bangkok (Thailand).
The Pension Board is a subsidiary organ of the United Nations General Assembly. The Pension Board has the ultimate responsibility for the administration of the Fund and it protects the best interest of the UNJSPF participants and beneficiaries by setting strategic goals and policies, providing general oversight and monitoring.
The Pension Board has 33 members, reflecting a participatory governance structure: its tri-partite membership includes representatives of (i) governing bodies, including GA members, (ii) executive heads, including the United Nations Secretary-General, and (iii) participants’ group (elected by staff members). In addition, there are four non-voting representatives of the retirees and other beneficiaries from the Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS) on the Pension Board. This structure ensures equity and inclusiveness of those who are affected by the Board’s decisions and actions, e.g., staff in active service, retirees and beneficiaries, member organizations, Member States and other stakeholders.
The Pension Board reports to the General Assembly on strategic questions and policy matters regarding the management of the Fund, the Fund’s budget, plan design issues and its long-term financial situation. In order to make fully informed decisions, to attain sufficient expertise, and to fulfill its responsibilities, the Pension Board has formed subcommittees who meet more frequently and report annually to the Board.
The Audit Committee provides the Pension Board with assistance in fulfilling its oversight responsibility relating to: (a) the performance and independence of the internal audit function; (b) the accounting and financial audit reporting processes of the Fund; and (c) adherence to the Fund’s Internal Audit Charter, and the UNJSPF Regulations and Administrative Rules relating to audits. It consists of nine members appointed by the Board: six reflecting the tripartite composition of the Board (Governing Bodies, Executive Heads and Participants groups); two independent expert members; and a FAFICS representative. The term of Committee members is four years and they may not be selected for consecutive terms. The Committee meets three times per year and submits an annual report to the Board.
The Audit Committee Terms of Reference can be found here.
Click here to read the Internal Audit Charter.
Membership of the UNJSPB Audit Committee as of February 2023
Mr. George Sarpong (UNESCO GB)
Mr. Vladimir Yossifov (WIPO GB)
Mr. George Kyriacou (WHO EH)
Mr. Arnab Roy (UN EH)
Mr. Ian Richards (UN Participants)
Ms. Carolina Bascones (WHO Participants)
Mr. Marco Breschi (FAFICS)
Ms. Marian McMahon (expert) (Vice-Chair)
Mr. Gabor Amon (expert)
In accordance with Article 9 of the Fund’s Regulations, a Committee of Actuaries was created to provide advice to the Pension Board on actuarial matters arising from the operation of the Fund. This includes consideration of the assumptions used in the biennial actuarial valuation of the Fund, review of the actuarial valuation results and consideration, advice, and recommendations regarding pension benefit design. The Committee consists of 5 regular members and 3 Ad Hoc members, representing the 5 regions around the world. Committee members are approved by the Pension Board and appointed by the Secretary-General and serve 3 or 2 year terms for Regular and Ad Hoc members, respectively. Committee members may not serve longer than 15 years.
Membership as of February 2023
Mr. Seiichi Inagki (Japan)
Mr. Tibor Parniczky (Hungary)
Ms. Adriana Scardino Devoto (Uruguay)
Ms. Assia Billig (Canada)(Chair)
Ms. Rosemary Nantambi (Uganda)(Vice-Chair/Rapporteur)
Ad hoc members:
Mr. Roland Schmid (Switzerland)
Mr. Senthamangalam Ganesan Venkatramani (India)
Ms. Marcia Dush (USA)
The Fund Solvency and Assets and Liabilities Monitoring Committee (FSALM Committee) assists the Pension Board in carrying out its responsibility for the overall management of the Fund. The FSALM Committee works with the support of the Fund’s management, the Investments Committee, the Committee of Actuaries and the Consulting Actuary to monitor the solvency of the Fund and to provide advice and recommendations to the Board with regard to risk management, funding policy, asset-liability management, and investment policy.
Membership as of February 2023:
H. E. Mr. Philip R. O. Owade (UNGA)
Mr. Nasser Okoth Opilo (UNESCO GB)
Mr. Jeffery Kobza (WHO EH)
Ms. Maria Costa (UN EH)
Ms. Kathrin Bruchmann (WHO Participants)
Mr. Christian Castelli (UN Participants) (Chair)
Ms. Suzanne Bishopric (FAFICS)
Mr. Marashetty Seenappa (FAFICS)
The Standing Committee of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board is appointed under Article 4 of the Fund’s Regulations and has the power to act on behalf of the Board when it is not in session. Pursuant to Section K of the Administrative Rules, the Standing Committee reviews decisions of the Secretary of the Board and of Staff Pension Committees arising out of the application of the Regulations, Administrative Rules and Pension Adjustment System.
Under the authority of the Pension Board, the Chief Executive of Pension Administration is responsible for managing the entire pension administration, providing pension services to the Fund’s participants, retirees and beneficiaries, supervising and coordinating all pension administration’s activities. The Chief Executive of Pension Administration has a leading role with regard to business transformation and outreach, communication and relations with stakeholders/decision-makers. The Office of the Chief Executive of Pension Administration includes the Deputy Chief Executive, the Special Assistant to the Chief Executive, the Change Manager Officer and the Assistant to the Chief Executive.
Operations Service (OPS) is entrusted with administering and managing the participation and separation process and post-retirement matters and relations with member organizations.
OPS is processing pension cases and coordinates relations with the 25 member organizations at the operational level. The total population of participants, retirees, and beneficiaries is approximately 220,000 as of the beginning of 2022. In addition, the Service also handles all incoming and outgoing correspondences, ensuring that they are recorded in the IPAS system, and appropriate workflows are opened for action by the different sections in the Fund.
The Fund’s Client Services (CS) is the first point of contact for all client queries reaching the Fund via the official UNJSPF contact channels. The team also processes a range of Workflows (WF) relating to participant and beneficiary activities and is in charge of all outreach to UNJSPF clients worldwide. CS includes the Fund’s Communication team, which works closely with the offices of the Chief Executive of Pension Administration, the Representative of the Secretary-General for the investments of the Fund and OIM.
CS receives and addresses all queries reaching the Fund from around 220,000 participants, retirees, and beneficiaries worldwide.
Financial Services (FS) includes all financial reporting activities, collection and reconciliation of contributions, and the payment of benefits. The Payments Section and the Cashiers Unit facilitate the disbursement of US$2.8 billion of benefits (in 2020), including quarterly adjustments to the benefit entitlement for all retirees and other beneficiaries. These adjustments to the entitlement amounts reflect changes in the cost-of-living in accordance with the Fund’s Pension Adjustment System. The Accounts Section administers and reconciles the receipt of contributions to the Fund and the statements for participants. It is also responsible for producing accurate and timely annual financial statements for the Fund as a whole, including all investment activity reported by the Office of Investment Management (OIM). Finally, FS includes the Budget Unit, which prepares and consolidates the annual budget for the entire Fund and facilitates and monitors the disbursement of the administrative expense through the United Nations Secretariat.
Information Management Systems Service (IMSS) is responsible for the Fund’s information systems and communications technologies (ICT) and includes ICT support to the Fund's staff, Staff Pension Committees, the Board, and its various Committees. The scope of ICT services comprises the provision of computing and office automation support; acquisition and maintenance of software/hardware; design of systems; development and implementation of technology-driven solutions; cybersecurity; project management; and support of the telecommunications infrastructure and conferences services.
The Office of the Representative of the Secretary-General (RSG) provides overall leadership, direction and management of OIM activities. The Office ensures that all investment activities are coherently aligned to safeguard the fiduciary responsibilities, support the financial objectives and maintain the sustainability of the Fund. The RSG leads the investment operations; approves relevant policies and strategies; oversees the work of the Office; and sets forth the framework under which OIM’s functional areas establish their strategies and priorities to ensure that OIM carries out its mandate. The RSG is supported by the Director and other specialized staff.
The Investments Group is responsible for achieving the optimal investment return for the Fund, avoiding undue risk to meet the Fund’s long term investment return objectives, as well as meeting or exceeding the Policy Benchmark over the short-term. It consists of nine teams; North American Equity, European Equity, Asia Pacific Equity, Global Emerging Markets Equity, Real Assets, Alternative Investments, Trade Execution, External Managers, as well as Fixed Income and Treasury.
The Risk and Compliance Group is responsible for identifying, measuring and monitoring all aspects of market and operational risks to which the Fund is exposed. In addition, it is mandated to implement adequate monitoring and control processes covering the Fund’s investments to ensure compliance with all our policies and guidelines.
The Operations and Information Systems Group is responsible for ensuring the security of the Fund’s investments enhancing business applications and information systems infrastructure, and supporting the front-to-back investment operation processes.
The Finance and Accounting team is responsible for all aspects of investment accounting, preparation of financial statements, and budget processes. It has a dual reporting line to the Chief Operation Officer and the Chief Financial Officer.