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Validation

Validation is an option which allows you to pay retroactively contributions for period(s) of employment, prior to the date on which your participation commenced, when you were not eligible to participate in the Pension Fund.

If you enter the Pension Fund after service in a UNJSPF member organization during which you were not eligible to participate in the Fund, you can validate your prior non-contributory period within 12 months from your date of entry into participation in the Pension Fund. Such validated period would count into your total contributory service.

Is it costly?

It costs you the same amount of contribution as if you had been in the Pension Fund during this period, plus interest. Your employing organization will pay its own share.

What are the advantages of validating?

Upon separation from service your future monthly pension will be proportional to the number of years and months that you will have contributed. By validating you can increase your total number of years and months of contributory service and thus your future pension entitlement. Validation can also help towards reaching optimum conditions, such as:

  • Accomplishing the minimum 5 years vesting period to be entitled to a periodic benefit upon separation
  • Reaching the threshold of 25 or 30 years of contributory service, to take advantage of the more preferential reduction rates if you were to consider taking an early retirement benefit.

Deadline and conditions

Is there a deadline to validate?

Yes, you have the opportunity to validate only once in each period of participation. You must elect to validate within one year following the date of commencement of your participation, or prior separation from service, whichever is earlier. Once the one year deadline has elapsed your right to validate is irrevocably forfeited.

Are there other conditions?

Yes, the prior period(s) of employment should not have been expressly excluded from participation (e.g. JSSA contracts, freelance interpreters and translators contracts). Participation commenced within 2 years after non-contributory service. All eligible periods of prior employment must be validated. Non-contributory service was the most recent prior to participation and had not been interrupted by a break of more than one year.

How can I apply for validation?

If you are interested in validating, you have two options:
a) complete the Notice of Election to Validate PENS.B/1 Form (also available for download inside your MSS account). You can either mail it to the Fund or upload it inside your MSS account; or

b) fill out a request to validate inside your Member Self-Service account under the Validation tab. Once you click on the tab, please click on "Edit" at the bottom of the page. Then click on "Add" and fill in the fields. Finally, click on "Submit validation". There is no need to fill out the PENS B/1 form if you choose this method.

What will happen next?

By completing the form  or submitting the request in MSS you are not yet committing yourself to pay. Following receipt of your request, the Pension Fund or the Secretariat of your Staff Pension Committee will review your application, and, if you meet eligibility requirements will calculate the contribution that you will have to pay for the period(s) of prior non-contributory service open for validation. Calculation will be done based on the pensionable remuneration rates that applied during these periods. You will then be informed in writing of the amount due by you.

Is there a deadline to pay for the validation?

Yes, if you decide to pay, you will have a period of 90 days to pay this amount to your employer (not to the Pension Fund), from the date of the notification of the amount due, or prior to separation from service if earlier. If you fail to do so within 90 days or prior to separation from service if earlier, your right to validate is irrevocably canceled.

If you pay the required amount in time, the Pension Fund will ask your employer to pay its share (twice your contributions).

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Log in to Member Self-Service to submit your PENS.B/1 form or to download it already pre-filled with your personal information.

You can also fill out a request for validation inside Member Self-Service under the Validation tab.

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