Lump Sum
To notify the Fund of a Lump Sum, click the buttons below. Or access our Benefit Estimate Tool on Member Self-Service.
Understanding Lump Sums
Once you become eligible to receive a retirement benefit, part of the benefit can be commuted into a lump sum which would be payable upon separation from service. The lump sum may not be greater than 1/3 of the actuarial equivalent of the full benefit and the remaining periodic benefit will be reduced accordingly (Articles 28(g) and 29(e) of the Fund’s Regulations).
If a retiree selects to commute part of his/her benefit into a lump sum, the Fund will automatically pay the maximum lump-sum allowed (i.e., the actuarial equivalent of 1/3 of the benefit OR the total of his/her own contributions with compounded interest, whichever is greater). The retiree may, however, choose a lesser amount as a lump-sum by specifically indicating such amount in the relevant Payment Instructions Form for less than 5 years of contributory service or for more than 5 years of service.
The Lump Sum is always calculated and paid in US dollars. If you want it in local currency, it will be converted at the current exchange rate applied by your bank. If you want to keep it in US dollars, be sure you have already opened an account in US dollars and that this account is the one indicated on your payment instructions form. Please note that once the Fund has implemented your benefit election, it is considered irrevocable.
The Withdrawal Settlement under Article 31 is one-time benefit payment to a former participant who is not entitled to or chooses NOT to elect ANY form of periodic pension benefit that carries potential future survivors’ benefits; the former participant will receive the reimbursement of his/her own contributions plus interest, and where applicable increased by 10 per cent for each year in excess of five up to a maximum of 100 per cent. A withdrawal settlement extinguishes all other rights to any other future benefits.
At the request of the beneficiary, articles 28 and 29 allow for partial commutation of up to 1/3rd of the pension entitlement into a one-time lump-sum cash payment. If elected, the lump-sum represents a portion of the periodic retirement benefit and is payable at the time of benefit implementation; it can represent up to a maximum of 1/3 of the actuarial equivalent of the retirement benefit. If a beneficiary elects to commutate part of his/her retirement benefit into a lump sum, the proportionately reduced balance will be paid for life to the beneficiary in the form of a periodic benefit. Payment of the lump sum does not impact the right/s to potential future survivors’ benefits.
Lump Sum Specifics
If I decide to take a lump sum does it have to be a one third lump sum?
No. You may take any amount as a lump sum provided that it does not exceed the actuarial equivalent of one third of your benefit or your contributions with interest.
May I have my lump sum paid into a different account than my monthly benefit?
Yes. The Payment Instruction form provides for this.
If I wish to receive my lump sum in a currency other than US dollars how will the conversion be done? And what about the monthly pension?
Your US dollar lump sum would be converted by the bank, using the bank rate of exchange available at the time of payment. On the other hand, should you request to receive your periodic benefit in an equivalent currency, the UNJSPF itself would establish the amount payable by using the UN Operational rate of exchange in effect for the month preceding the calendar quarter of payment. See information on the local or two-track pension system.
Rolling Over into an IRA account
If you would like to request the roll-over of your lump sum or withdrawal settlement from the Fund to an IRA account, please note that the Fund can only remit payments to an account in the name of the participant that is capable of receiving wire transfers. If your account meets these criteria, have your bank provide you with specific instructions as to how they wish to receive payments via wire transfer bearing in mind that the funds will be remitted from JP Morgan Chase Bank in New York City.
Next, fill out the relevant Payment Instructions Form for less than 5 years of contributory service or for more than 5 years of service and, under the Lump Sum banking information box, note to refer to an annex sheet providing the necessary IRA information. Obtain this annex sheet from your financial institution, most will provide you with a form called the Fedwire Instructions Document, detailing what the Fund needs in order to correctly issue the payment. Sign and submit this document to the Fund along with your UNJSPF Payment Instructions. In case you cannot obtain a Fedwire Instructions Document, please detail the following on a blank sheet of paper:
- Line 1: Bank name where financial institution has an account
- Line 2: Address
- Line 3: Address
- Line 4: (United States of America)
- Line 5: Bank identifier (SWIFT, ABA#, CHIPS UID) of Line 1 bank
- Line 6: Name of financial institution
- Line 7: Account number of Line 6 financial institution with Line 1 bank
- Line 8: Beneficiary’s name
- Line 9: (Blank)
- Line 10: Account number of beneficiary with Line 6 financial institution
Note: Print your name, UID, and date on the paper and sign it with your original ink signature
Regulations & Rules
(a) A retirement benefit shall be payable to a participant whose age on separation is the normal retirement age or more and whose contributory service was five years or longer.
(b) The benefit shall, subject to (d), (e) and (f) below, in respect of any period or periods of participation commencing on or after 1 January 1983, be payable at the standard rate obtained by multiplying:
- (i) The first five years of the participant’s contributory service, by 1.5 per cent of the final average remuneration;
- (ii) The next five years of contributory service, by 1.75 per cent of the final average remuneration;
- (iii) The next 25 years of contributory service, by 2 per cent of the final average remuneration; and
- (iv) The years of contributory service in excess of 35 and performed as from 1 July 1995, by 1 per cent of the final average remuneration, subject to a maximum total accumulation rate of 70 per cent.
However, in respect of a participant with a prior period of contributory service of five years or longer ending between 1 January 1978 and 31 December 1982, the standard annual rate specified above shall be calculated by taking into account as periods of contributory service for the purpose of subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) above the period of contributory service before 1 January 1983.
(c) The benefit shall, subject to (d), (e) and (f) below, in respect of any period of participation commencing prior to 1 January 1983, be payable at the standard annual rate obtained by multiplying:
- (i) The first 30 years of the participant’s contributory service, by 2 per cent of the final average remuneration;
- (ii) The years of contributory service in excess of 30, but not exceeding five, by 1 per cent of the final average remuneration; and
- (iii) The years of contributory service in excess of 35 and performed as from 1 July 1995 by 1 per cent of the final average remuneration, subject to a maximum total accumulation rate of 70 per cent.
(d) (i) However, except as provided in (ii) below, the benefit otherwise payable at the standard annual rate in accordance with the applicable provisions of (b) or (c) above to a participant at a level above D-2, top step, of the scale of pensionable remuneration indicated in article 51 (see appendix B below), shall not exceed, as at the time of the participant’s separation, the greater of:
- (A) 60 per cent of the participant’s pensionable remuneration on the date of separation; or
- (B) The maximum benefit payable under the provisions of (b) or (c) above to a participant at the level D-2 (top step for the preceding five years) separating on the same date as the participant;
- (ii) However, for a participant separating at the level of Under‑Secretary‑General, Assistant Secretary‑General or their equivalent level, to whom the provisions of (i) above are applicable, the benefit payable shall not be less than the benefit that would have been payable at the standard annual rate if the participant had separated from service on 31 March 1986; for participants separating at other levels above D‑2, top step, in the scale of pensionable remuneration in appendix B below, to whom the provisions of (i) above are applicable, the benefit payable shall not be less than the benefit that would have been payable at the standard annual rate if the participant had separated from service on 31 March 1993; for participants who entered or re-entered the Fund at an ungraded level before 1 April 1993, the provisions of (i) above shall not be applicable.
(e) The benefit shall however be payable at the minimum annual rate which is obtained by multiplying the years of the participant’s contributory service, not exceeding 10, by the smaller of 180 dollars [increased to 1,034.96 dollars effective 1 April 2014] subject to subsequent adjustments in accordance with the movement of the United States CPI under the Pension Adjustment System (Click here)1 or 1/30 of the final average remuneration, if the benefit so calculated would be greater than the amount under (b) or (c) above.
(f) The annual rate of the benefit shall nevertheless not be less, when no other benefit is payable on account of the participant under these Regulations, than the smaller of 300 dollars [increased to 1,646.16 dollars effective 1 April 2014] subject to subsequent adjustments in accordance with the movement of the United States CPI under the Pension Adjustment System (Click here)1 or the final average remuneration of the participant.
(g) A benefit payable at the standard annual rate may be commuted by the participant into a lump sum subject to the following limitations and to supplementary article D, where applicable:
(i) If the rate is 300 dollars or more, the amount of the lump sum may not exceed the smaller of:
- (A) The actuarial equivalent of one third of the benefit; or
- (B) The actuarial equivalent of one third of the maximum benefit that would be payable to a participant retiring at the normal retirement age, on the same date as the participant, with a final average remuneration equal to the pensionable remuneration on that date for the top step of level P‑5 on the scale of pensionable remuneration in appendix B below;
(ii) Nevertheless, if the amount calculated under (i) above is less than the amount of the participant’s own contributions, then the benefit may be commuted to the extent of the latter amount;
(iii) If the rate is less than 1000 dollars, the benefit may be commuted to the extent of its full actuarial equivalent; if a participant is married, the prospective benefit payable to his or her spouse may also be commuted at the standard annual rate of such benefit.
(h) A benefit payable at the minimum rate under (e) or (f) of this article may be commuted into a lump sum as in (g) above, if the participant elects to receive it instead at the standard annual rate.
Participation in the Fund has commenced or recommenced prior to 1 January 2014:
(a) An early retirement benefit shall be payable to a participant whose age on separation is at least 55 but less than the normal retirement age and whose contributory service was five years or longer.
(b) The benefit shall be payable at the standard annual rate for a retirement benefit, reduced for each year or part thereof by which the age of the participant on separation was less than the normal retirement age (60 or 62), at the rate of 6 per cent a year, except that:
- (i) If the contributory service of the participant was 25 years or longer but less than 30 years, the standard annual rate would be reduced by 2 per cent a year in respect of the period of contributory service performed before 1 January 1985, and 3 per cent a year in respect of the period of such service performed as from 1 January 1985; or
- (ii) If the contributory service of the participant was 30 years or longer, the standard annual rate would be reduced by 1 per cent a year;
provided however that the rate in (i) or (ii) above shall apply to no more than five years.
Participation in the Fund has commenced or recommenced on or after 1 January 2014:
(c) An early retirement benefit shall be payable to a participant whose age on separation is at least 58 but less than the normal retirement age and whose contributory service was five years or longer.
(d) The benefit shall be payable at the standard annual rate for a retirement benefit, reduced for each year or part thereof by which the age of the participant on separation was less than the normal retirement age (65), at the rate of 6 per cent a year, except that:
- (i) If the contributory service of the participant was 25 years or longer, the standard annual rate would be reduced by 4 per cent a year; and
- (ii) The rate in (i) above shall apply to no more than five years.
(e) The benefit may be commuted by the participant into a lump sum to the extent specified in article 28(g) for a retirement benefit.
(a) A withdrawal settlement shall be payable to a participant whose age on separation is less than the normal retirement age, or if the participant is the normal retirement age or more on separation but is not entitled to a retirement benefit.
(b) The settlement shall consist of:
- (i) The participant’s own contributions, if the contributory service of the participant was less than five years; or
- (ii) The participant’s own contributions increased by 10 per cent for each year in excess of five up to a maximum of 100 per cent, if the contributory service of the participant was more than five years.
Notwithstanding the provisions of article 28(g), a participant in contributory service on 31 March 1987 may commute a retirement benefit payable into a lump sum to the extent of the greater of:
(a) The amount calculated under article 28(g); or
(b) (i) If the participant’s age on 31 March 1987 was less than 55, the actuarial equivalent of one-third of the benefit that would have been payable if separated on 31 March 1987 and had been aged 60 on that date;
- (ii) If the participant’s age on 31 March 1987 was 55 or more, the actuarial equivalent of one-third of the benefit that would have been payable to the participant, had he or she retired on 31 March 1987 and had attained on that date the age at his or her actual date of separation.