The UN Pension Fund released today its 2022 climate finance disclosure report, providing an update on the progress achieved in furthering climate considerations on its investment activities. The report highlights its climate commitments, which are an integral part of the Fund’s sustainable investment approach.

The publication of this report follows the recommendations made by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), designed to help companies provide better information to support informed capital allocation.

“The UNJSPF is taking proactive actions to evaluate and act on climate change. In this report, we want to transparently disclose how the Fund is aligning its strategies with the recommendations received by TCFD. We want to reaffirm our responsibility to integrate climate-related risks and opportunities into all of our investment processes”, said Pedro Guazo, Representative of the Secretary-General for the investment of the UNJSPF assets.

The report confirms that the Fund’s Office of Investment Management (OIM) follows a well-structured channel of oversight on climate-related decisions. To double down on its efforts to integrate climate analysis over the short, medium and long term, the Fund included climate considerations into its 2023 Asset-Liability Management (ALM) study, considering both climate physical and transition risks and assessing the Fund’s resilience according to different climate scenarios.

OIM committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the transition to a low carbon economy, as the Fund believes it is essential to limit global warming to 1.5°C, in line with the Paris Agreement. In its net zero strategy, OIM set targets across three pillars:

Methodologies

OIM uses in-house methodologies and third parties to identify risks and uses divestment, engagement, and investment in transitioning companies to manage climate risks and take advantage of climate opportunities.

Every four years, the Fund undertakes an Assets-Liabilities Management (ALM) study using an expert, external consultancy firm. The goal of the 2023, ALM study was to assess the impact of key investment and solvency-related decisions on the long-term financial condition and performance of the Fund and to recommend strategic asset allocations that would improve the long-term financial outlook of the Fund.

The 2023 ALM study fully integrates climate risk in its modelling to help OIM understand climate risks and opportunities and make informed decisions.

Background

The Financial Stability Board established the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures in 2017 to develop recommendations for more effective climate-related disclosures that could promote more informed investment, credit, and insurance underwriting decisions and, in turn, enable stakeholders to understand better the concentrations of carbon-related assets in the financial sector and the financial system’s exposures to climate-related risks. The TCFD recommends documenting the processes to communicate to relevant parties the key inputs, assumptions, analytical methods, outputs, and potential management responses.

The UNJSPF provides retirement, death, disability and related benefits to over 215,000 staff, retirees and beneficiaries from the United Nations and other international member organizations. OIM is responsible for the investment management activities of the Fund, overseeing over $80 billion of assets (value in September 2023). The fiduciary duty to manage the assets of the Fund in the best long-term interest of its participants and beneficiaries encompasses a strong commitment to sustainable investing.

To read the 2022 report, click here.

Guidelines to determine eligibility for spousal benefits have just been revised.

In its resolution 77/258, the United Nations General Assembly requested that the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board (UNJSPB) provide a framework to extend the guidelines for determining eligibility for spousal benefits under articles 34 and 35 of the Fund’s Regulations in specific circumstances.

The UN Joint Staff Pension Board (UNJSPB) agreed on the applicable framework at its 75th session in July 2023, which has been incorporated into the revised Guidelines to determine eligibility for spousal benefits under articles 34 and 35 of the Fund’s Regulations (Rev.2).

In accordance with the revised Guidelines, retirees who separated from service on or before 31 August 2016 and who married their spouse after separation from service can request a prospective survivor’s benefit for their spouse under articles 34 and 35 of the Fund’s Regulations if they meet all of the following conditions:

  1. The former participant separated from service no later than 31 August 2016;
  2. At the time of the former participant’s separation from service, the participant was reported to the Fund as single, but was in a relationship with their partner;
  3. At the time of the former participant’s separation from service, the participant could not legally marry their partner under the laws of the participant’s nationality;
  4. The laws of the former participant’s country of nationality were amended after the former participant’s separation from service, thereby permitting the former participant and their partner to marry; and
  5. The former participant and their partner married after the change in national law and such marriage was entered into no later than 31 December 2022.

The existence of the relationship at the time of the former participant’s separation from service must be established through evidence that must normally include sworn affidavits as well as additional documentation. The Guidelines set out detailed information in that regard.

If you meet the criteria set out in the Guidelines, you must submit your request for recognition of your spouse using the Fund’s Contact Us form no later than 31 December 2024. Requests made after that date cannot be accepted by the Fund.

Retirees who marry after separation from service and do not meet the conditions set out in the Guidelines continue to have the option of purchasing an annuity for their spouse in accordance with Article 35 ter of the Fund’s Regulations, provided that the election is made within one year of the marriage date.

For more information, please consult this web page under “Non-traditional unions guidelines and annex”: https://www.unjspf.org/for-clients/survivors-benefit/

As an update to our announcement on 15 June 2023 regarding high bank fees on incoming US dollar transfers implemented by Raiffeisen Bank, we would like to advise that the Fund has secured a new payment channel to remit UNJSPF pension payments in Russian Ruble (RUB).

The Fund has coordinated with the UN Treasury to allow UNJSPF pension benefits to be remitted in RUB to banks in the Russian Federation.

The Fund will inform the concerned retirees and beneficiaries about this new payment channel, including detailed instructions on how to update their Payment Instruction.

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The Pension Fund Liaison Offices in Bangkok and Nairobi are part of the Fund’s Client Services Service and a key resource for UNJSPF participants, retirees, and beneficiaries in their regions. These offices provide essential services, including outreach, policy interpretation and capacity building, to support UNJSPF members, partners and operations. Each Liaison Office consists of a Benefits Officer and a Benefits Assistant who work closely with the other UNJSPF offices in New York and Geneva to provide services to members in their respective regions. The Nairobi Office opened in 2017, while the Bangkok Office started operating in November 2020 and was officially opened in March 2021. The UNJSPF Bangkok and Nairobi Liaison Offices are greatly supported by UNESCAP and UNON, respectively, with the Nairobi physical office shared with UNON HR Management Service (HRMS), while the Bangkok Office has its own office on ESCAP premises.

The Liaison Offices respond to client queries via email and offer one-on-one consultations, both remotely and in-person. They carry out pension briefings and town halls to disseminate information on pension matters in a clear and concise manner, ensuring that they are adapted to the needs of local audiences. These briefings cover a range of topics, including participation, separation, pre-retirement and in-retirement. They are targeted to all-participants, retirees, beneficiaries as well as pension focal points in member organizations or retiree associations. While most briefings are provided virtually, in-person missions to various duty stations have resumed and the Liaison Offices are now able to connect with clients in a more personal way.

Since their inception, the Liaison Offices have carried out over 250 briefings, reaching some 15,000 staff members and beneficiaries in their respective regions. For the Nairobi Liaison office, these included both in-person missions and virtual briefings to offices in and around Nairobi, Alijungur, Dadaab, and Mombasa, and to organizations in various countries including Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and to all English speaking UN Peacekeeping missions in Africa. Besides regular pension outreach carried out locally in Thailand, the Bangkok Liaison Office has completed recent in-person missions to provide briefings in Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Bangladesh and China, with an upcoming visit scheduled to Myanmar. Numerous virtual briefings have been delivered to UNJSPF members in various duty stations, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Mongolia, Japan, Philippines, and Cambodia.

The Benefits Officers in Bangkok and Nairobi mutually support each other for all virtual outreach events by answering written questions in live time to clarify participants’ queries and provide additional information as needed throughout these sessions. Through in-person and virtual briefings, the Liaison Offices will continue to expand their outreach to more countries in their respective regions.

The Liaison Offices play a crucial role in supporting retirees and beneficiaries in their respective regions, especially in the annual pre-suspension exercise to minimize the number of suspended benefits due to non-receipt of the certificate of entitlement.

If you have any queries about your pension, please visit our website or contact us here.

On August 16, 2023, the UNJSPF became a member of the Blockchain for Sustainable Future (BC100+) initiative. BC100+ brings together various organizations to raise awareness about the potential of blockchain for social impact and sustainability. This initiative aims at promoting quality debate, raising awareness, and clarifying the opportunities of blockchain’s role in realizing the UN Charter Values and the 2030 Agenda.

Dino Dell’Accio, Chief Information Officer at the Fund, commented: “Signing the BC100+ Manifesto is in line with the Fund’s modernization efforts. Through this initiative, we commit to leverage blockchain technology’s transformative potential for social good and applying a set of guiding principles in its implementation”.

The initiative accepts applications from a diverse range of organizations from three target groups: blockchain projects and experts, UN offices with blockchain projects, and SDG projects with or without blockchain applications.

BC100+ is a global initiative, under the High Patronage of H.E. Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th UN General Assembly, convening the blockchain ecosystem to the broader efforts of UN agencies and global initiatives in support of the UN Charter values and the Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information, please visit https://bc100plus.org/

Due to sanctions imposed on Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), XOF (West African CFA franc) payments to Niger cannot be made at this time. 

In view of this, the Fund will put a temporary hold on all XOF payments into Niger effective with the August 2023 benefit payment. The Fund is exploring alternative XOF payment channels and will provide updates on its website once new information becomes available.

For beneficiaries who have a non-XOF bank account in their name and wish to receive their pension payments into that account, please submit payment instructions to the Fund so that we may update your records and remit the funds accordingly.

To update your payment instructions, please complete Form PF.23 and return it to the Fund. If you are registered with Member Self-Service (MSS), please upload the completed form to MSS. Due to the present situation, the Fund will also accept the completed form sent via email to unjspf-paymentinstructions@un.org. If sending via email, please also include (1) a copy of your valid passport, driver’s license, or other government-issued identification document with your photo and signature and (2) a copy of your Bank Statement/Document with account details and your name.

Should you have any questions/concerns, please contact us at the contact details provided on our Contact Us webpage here.

The UNJSPF 2022 Annual Report has just been published. It contains a recap of the 2022 achievements and performance both from Pension Administration and the Office of Investment Management, key facts and figures related to the Fund’s pensions and investments, highlights of the Fund’s sustainable investing efforts, actuarial matters, governance, and a summary of the audited financial statements.

Download the 2022 Annual Report here.

The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board has concluded its 75th session, in which it considered numerous important pension matters, including the asset-liability management study, the funding policy, assumptions for the next actuarial valuation, the performance of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund’s pension administration and investments, the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022, the proposed 2024 administrative budget, and annual reports from the United Nations Board of Auditors and Office of Internal Oversight Services.

The meeting was hosted by the International Maritime Organization in London (United Kingdom) from 24 to 28 July 2023, in a hybrid format, with both in-person and remote participation. Below is a summary of the main discussions and decisions.

Asset-Liability Management (ALM) study

Every four years, the Fund undertakes an ALM study using an expert, external consultancy firm.  The goal of the study was to assess the impact of key investment and solvency-related decisions (such as the funding policy) on the long-term financial condition and performance of the UNJSPF. A key objective of the study was to recommend strategic asset allocations that would improve the long-term financial outlook of the Fund.

The 2023 ALM study considered various scenarios for the future, including scenarios that incorporated climate risk. The Board took note that, under a baseline scenario with moderate growth and a suitable asset allocation, the Fund should still expect the required contribution rate to remain within a targeted range of 21.7 per cent to 25.7 per cent of pensionable remuneration. This means that the current contribution rate would remain adequate under that scenario. Another scenario considered the impact of a financial crisis arising from a failure to transition to Net Zero. This scenario would be more challenging for the Fund, and it is important that the Fund continues to monitor the impact of climate risk over the long term. The ALM study provides crucial insight for the Fund’s Office of Investment Management in developing its future strategic asset allocation, with an emphasis on continued risk management to ensure long-term sustainability of the Fund.

Funding Policy

At its 66th session in 2019, the Board agreed that a funding policy should be developed to document the Fund’s funding and risk management process. The purpose of the UNJSPF Funding Policy is to assist in ensuring that the Fund’s obligations to beneficiaries can be met over the long-term. The policy sets out the methods, processes and targets that are used to monitor the funding position and associated risks. The Board approved the Funding Policy, which includes a funding target of maintaining the required contribution rate within a range of 21.7 per cent to 25.7 per cent of pensionable remuneration.

Assumptions for the next actuarial valuation

The next actuarial valuation will be performed as at 31 December 2023, with the results to be reviewed by the Board at its July 2024 session. Actuarial valuations, which determine the solvency of the Fund at a point in time, are based on a wide set of assumptions for the long-term future. These include, for example, future growth of participants and various demographic assumptions.

The Pension Board agreed that a 6 per cent nominal rate of return (composed of a 3.4 per cent real rate of return on investments (arithmetic) and a 2.6 per cent inflation rate) should be used for the upcoming actuarial valuation as of 31 December 2023. This is a change from recent actuarial valuations that used an assumption of 3.5 per cent. This change reflects the growing evidence that various global factors, such as climate change, evolving demographics and the future economic outlook, will likely lead to lower future long-term investment returns than have been observed in the past.

Performance of the Fund

Ms. Rosemarie McClean, the Chief Executive of Pension Administration, highlighted that pension payments have continued to be issued on time. For the year 2022 and the first half of the year 2023, over 90 per cent of pension cases have continued to be processed within 15 business days of the reception of relevant documents by the Fund. Continuous improvement is being made in the area of client service, with client queries by telephone being answered in less than a minute. Ms. McClean stressed that the success of the Digital Certificate of Entitlement continues, with more than 36% of the eligible population of retirees and beneficiaries using this option. Ms. McClean presented the main strategic objectives of Pension Administration for 2024 and beyond. A strong focus will be placed on a systems upgrade, which is a necessity as systems are aging. The intention is to adopt a gradual, phased approach over a six-year horizon.

Mr. Pedro Guazo, Representative of the Secretary-General for the investment of the assets of the Fund (RSG), reported that the investment portfolio was valued at USD 85.5 billion as of 20 July 2023. All asset classes outperformed their benchmark over the one and three-year periods. The RSG informed the Pension Board that an independent study found that the Pension Fund compared favorably against other pension funds in terms of cost and return of the assets (as disclosed here).

Eligibility for spousal benefits under articles 34 and 35 of the UNJSPF Regulations

In its resolution 77/258, the General Assembly requested the Board to provide to it the framework for the extension of the “Guidelines to determine eligibility for spousal benefits under articles 34 and 35 of the UNJSPF Regulations (Rev.1)” (the “Guidelines”). The General Assembly’s specific request was that, without prejudice to national law, the Guidelines be extended to allow retrospective recognition of beneficiaries arising from marriages, in cases where changes under national legislation occurred after the time of the former participants’ separation from service and they separated prior to the adoption of the Guidelines in 2016. The Guidelines will be revised to reflect the 75th Board-approved principles and conditions of eligibility, and published in the coming weeks. Those Guidelines will set out the specific eligibility criteria and deadlines that must be met. The Board will be reporting back to the General Assembly on the details of the framework in its report.

2022 Financial Statements

The Board approved the 2022 audited financial statements, after reviewing the report of the United Nations Board of Auditors. The financial statements will be presented to the United Nations General Assembly. The Board of Auditors issued an unqualified audit opinion on the Fund’s financial statements and were pleased to note that 83% of its previous audit recommendations had been implemented. The high rate of implementation was compared favorably against other audited offices and demonstrated the strong commitment of the Fund’s management to address outstanding audit recommendations.

2024 Budget Proposal

The Pension Board approved the Fund’s 2024 budget, which will be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly for final approval.

Next Steps

The Board will submit its report on its 75th session to the United Nations General Assembly in the coming weeks. The Board’s report is expected to be published in September 2023.

The audited financial statements of UNJSPF for the year ended 31 December 2022 have been published here.

Taking note of the unqualified audit opinion issued by the United Nations Board of Auditors, the Pension Board approved the financial statements of UNJSPF for the year ended 31 December 2022 at its 75th session held from 24-28 July 2023.

Below are the outlines of the 2022 audited financial statements.

At 31 December 2022, the net assets available for benefits was US$77.92 billion, which was a 14.8 per cent decrease from 2021. During the year ending 31 December 2022, there was a decrease in the net assets available for benefits of US$13.54 billion (in 2021 it was an increase of US$9.95 billion). The decrease was primarily attributable to investment loss for the year.

As of 31 December 2022, the actuarial present value of accumulated plan, benefits including liabilities related to cost-of-living adjustments, amounted to US$70.60 billion), which was exceeded by net assets available for benefits of US$77.92 billion.

Total contributions to the UNJSPF for 2022 amounted to US$3.12 billion (2021: US$2.97 billion), reflecting a 5.1 per cent increase over the 2021 total contributions. Over the same period, pension benefits paid by the Fund amounted to US$3.12 billion (2021: US$2.97 billion), reflected a 5.1 per cent increase over the 2021 amount.

The tables in the annex of the financial statements show that there was a 4.6 per cent increase in participants and a 2.0 per cent increase in periodic benefits during the year 2022.

DOWNLOAD THE 2022 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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