The new version of the Digital Certificate of Entitlement (DCE) App, version 3.1.0, is now available for download. It includes bug fixes for certain Samsung devices and an improved user interface among other fixes.
If you already have the app installed on your phone or tablet, please go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) and click on “Update”. This will guarantee that you are using the latest version of the app.
The Fund has just updated all its forms to include a barcode. The new forms are available on our website https://www.unjspf.org/resources/forms/ and inside your Member Self-Service account (those also come pre-completed with your name, UID, retirement and pension number as the case may be). Please use the new barcoded forms to speed up the processing of your requests.
These newly barcoded forms are compliant with the new scanning and automated signature verification system of the Fund, which will increase productivity and efficiency of the form processing.
Additionally, to expand the set of proof signature reference documents, two additional signature forms have been created:
• S1 – Participant Signature Specimen Form
• S2 – Guardian Signature Specimen Form
You can use these forms to register your signature with the Fund. Participants should use Form S1 prior to completing their payment instructions form. and Guardians should use Form S2 once appointed. Having a signature on file with the Fund may reduce the time necessary to process benefit payments.
The second mailing of the 2022 Certificates of Entitlement (CE), dated 31 October 2022 has been dispatched by the UN Mail and Pouch Services to 12,921 retirees and beneficiaries from whom the Fund had not received their original duly completed barcoded 2022 CE form and/or who had not issued their 2022 Digital CE (DCE) using the Digital CE App by mid-October 2022. We hope these CE forms will reach all concerned within the next few weeks so that they can return it to the Fund within the required time frame. In case you are one of those who, at today’s date, still have not received your 2022 CE form nor issued your DCE in the DCE App, please read on for guidance on what to do to complete the requirements of the annual CE exercise in a timely manner and prevent the possible suspension of your UNJSPF benefit.
The Fund requires all retirees and beneficiaries to complete the annual CE exercise by 31 December 2022. This means that you must return your annual proof of life to the Fund by year-end 2022 in one of the following ways:
Using the DCE app to provide your ‘proof of life’ in biometric format inside the app. Note that all retirees and beneficiaries can enroll in the DCE app, including those who are paid under the Two-Track. For more information about the DCE app and DCE submission please visit Digital Certificate of Entitlement (DCE).
Using the CE form (received by postal mail or printed from MSS) and submitting it to the Fund electronically inside their MSS account by uploading a scanned copy of their dated and hand-signed barcoded CE form to the Fund inside the Document Upload tab inside their MSS account. All retirees and beneficiaries can use this feature to submit their duly completed CE form (and other documents) to the Fund electronically, including those paid under the Two-Track. For details about how to register for MSS and how to upload a document please visit About Member Self-Service (MSS).
Using the CE form (received by postal mail or printed from MSS) and mailing the physical CE form to the Fund.In this case, the Fund must receive the original dated and signed CE form with the retiree’s or beneficiary’s original ink signature on it. For the Fund’s mailing addresses please refer to our Contact Us page.
Using the CE form (received by postal mailor printed from MSS) and dropping it off in person in New York or Geneva. Retirees and beneficiaries can drop their duly dated and signed CE form with their original ink signature on the form at the Fund’s New York and Geneva offices where dedicated UNJSPF mailboxes have been set up to receive your CE form and pension documents in general. For practical details about the modalities for in-person mail drop off, please refer to the New York and Geneva office tabs on our Contact Us page.
What should you do in case you have not received the CE form mailed by the Fund and cannot download it from MSS? (e.g., retirees/beneficiaries paid under the Two-Track)
Retirees/Beneficiaries who have not received their paper-based 2022 CE form by the end of November 2022 and who cannot download the CE form from MSS are strongly encouraged to mail/special courier/pouch a letter to the Fund with subject line “2022 CE Exercise”, providing their full name, address, Pension Fund reference number (UID), as well as their original handwritten signature and the date in the letter and confirmation that they are alive. The Fund would exceptionally accept such letter in lieu of the 2022 CE form. This letter could also be submitted electronically, via MSS Document Upload inside your MSS account, in line with the according guidelines published here: About Member Self-Service (MSS) - UNJSPF.
We encourage all beneficiaries to visit the dedicated CE and DCE webpages regularly, as we continuously update these pages with CE and DCE-related information and guidance. The CE webpage also includes helpful information regarding UNJSPF signature authentication requirements, specifically for CE purposes.
Please always submit any queries you may have via the official UNJSPF contact channels advertised on the Fund’s website under the Contact Us webpage.
Enrolling in the Digital Certificate of Entitlement (Digital CE) has never been so easy. With the new version, you only need to let the Fund know about your availability, and the Fund will call you within 5 business days to finalize the process.
This is the main improvement brought by the just released new version of the Digital CE app, available on the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). In the previous version, users had to schedule a video call to finalize their enrolment themselves sometimes months ahead.
The new version of the Digital CE app also provides a new option to securely back up user’s biometric data by connecting their Digital CE account to their Gmail account or Apple ID. Once the backup is done, there is no need to re-enroll in the Digital CE app when changing phone or tablet.
Download the app today to issue your Certificate of Entitlement from the comfort of your home with your phone or tablet! It will save you time and stress compared to sending the Fund the paper form.
If you already have the app installed on your phone or tablet, go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) and click on “Update”. This will guarantee that you are using the latest version of the app with all its new features.
To learn more about the Digital CE app and these new functionalities, please check our dedicated Digital CE page.
With a preliminary value of US$74.2 billion as of 30 September 2022, the situation of the portfolio shows a preliminary decrease of 18.73% since 1 January 2022. The situation of the markets remains very volatile and extraordinary in many respects, with US and global equity and bond markets concomitantly affected by negative returns, as shown in the below charts.
In this context, the behavior of the Fund’s portfolio of public equities is consistent with the markets’ evolution. However, the Fund’s bonds portfolio has performed relatively better than the markets. The main reason behind this performance was the tactical decision, endorsed by the Investments Committee earlier this year, to hold around 6% of the Fund’s assets in cash during the first 9 months of 2022, to avoid losses and have adequate liquidity.
Overall, the value of the Fund’s portfolio decreased less than the compounded effect of the equity and bond markets. This is because of the strategic decision made a decade ago and strengthened in the last few years, to diversify the Fund’s investments out of public equity markets; the Fund’s portfolio now counts 8.52% of private equity, 9.53% of real estate and 0.45% of infrastructure investments.
While the evolution of the markets remains unpredictable in the short term, the long-term solvency of the Fund was reconfirmed with the last actuarial valuation reviewed by the Pension Board at its July 2022 session.
To get updates and more details on the performance Fund’s portfolio, please visit this page.
The UNJSPF 2021 Annual Report has just been published. It contains a recap of the 2021 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, governance and a summary of the audited financial statements.
The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) ranked first on the leaders list in the 2021-2022 Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative (RAAI) Index and Leaders List Report.
“I am very proud of this ranking, which recognizes the Fund’s leadership in responsible investing. It is also a well-deserved recognition, as the Fund’s achievements in this area stem from the strong conviction and action by all the Office of Investment Management’s teams. The Fund has deployed tremendous efforts over the past years, divesting from carbon-emitting investments and adopting best practices in sustainable investment. The Fund wants to lead by example in this area, and this is also what this ranking is about,” stated Pedro Guazo, Representative of the Secretary-General for the investment of the UNJSPF assets.
The Fund’s volume of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of the equities and corporate bonds portfolio has been reduced by more than 30% since 2019, ahead of the schedule set by the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, of which the UNJSPF is a member. By 2025, the Fund has committed to reduce the carbon footprint of its investments by 40 per cent compared to the 2019 level. In March this year, the UN Pension Fund released its first report explaining how it addresses the challenges caused by climate change in its investment activities.
UNJSPF has been rated as a Leader in the RAAI Index since 2017 and jumped to first place in 2021-2022 from place 23 in the 2019 ranking.
With a focus on mobilizing capital from the world’s largest asset allocators toward responsible investing and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative partners with the Fletcher School at Tufts University of the United States to develop the RAAI Index.
“The RAAI Index analyzes how the world’s largest long-term investors, including sovereign wealth funds and government pension funds, are developing strategies to manage critical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues along 10 core principles and 30 detailed criteria,” according to the RAAI report.
“The 30 asset allocators on the Leaders List were the top scorers in a rigorous evaluation process that examined 251 public pension and sovereign wealth funds, with AUM (assets under management) of over $26 trillion. UNJSPF finished with a score of 100%, ranking 1st among all asset allocators,” stated Scott Kalb, Founder and Director of the Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative, in his letter informing the Fund about the ranking.
For the 2021-2022 RAAI Index ranking, all contenders went through a comprehensive assessment. An asset allocator needs to reach a minimum score of 96 per cent to become one of the top 30 Leaders. In addition to UNJSPF, 15 other asset allocators scored 100 per cent, including AIMCo, APG, ATP, Aware Super, BCI, Caisse des Depots Group, CDP, ERAFP, LGPS Central, NBIM, NZSF, NYSCRF, Pension Danmark, PGGM and UniSuper.
“The RAAI Index and Leaders List Report is the only comprehensive study of the responsible investing practices of the world's largest asset owners,” added Mr. Kalb.
UNJSPF investments are managed by the Office of Investment Management, which reports to the United Nations Secretary-General through his Representative for the investment of the assets of the Fund.
The audited financial statements of UNJSPF for the year ended 31 December 2021 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 2021 at its 72nd session held from 25-29 July 2021.
Below are the outlines of the 2021 audited financial statements.
At 31 December 2021, the net assets available for benefits was US$91.46 billion, which was a 12.2 per cent increase from 2020. During the year ending 31 December 2021, there was an increase in the net assets available for benefits of US$9.95 billion (in 2020 it was an increase of US$9.48 billion). The increase was primarily attributable to investment income for the year.
As of 31 December 2021, the actuarial present value of accumulated plan, benefits including liabilities related to cost-of-living adjustments, amounted to US$66.66 billion (without the adjustments, the amount was US$49.72 billion), which was exceeded by net assets available for benefits of US$91.46 billion.
Total contributions to UNJSPF for 2021 amounted to US$2.97 billion (2020: US$2.85 billion), reflecting a 4.3 per cent increase over the 2020 total contributions. Over the same period, pension benefits paid by the Fund amounted to US$2.98 billion (2020: US$2.79 billion), reflected a 6.7 per cent increase over the 2020 amount.
The tables in the annex of the financial statements show that there was a 2.0% increase in participants and a 2.4 per cent increase in periodic benefits during the year 2021.
