You start participating in the Fund when you become a staff member of a UNJSPF member organization and upon being granted an appointment for 6 months or more OR upon completing six months of continuous service without an interruption of more than 30 days, whichever occurs first, provided that participation in the Fund is not expressly (exceptionally) excluded by the terms of your appointment. Your participation in the Fund will commence automatically via a personnel action form (PA) submitted by your employer. Participation in the Fund is mandatory if your contract meets these requirements. You should receive your assigned unique identification number (UID) through your Administrative/Executive Office once you have been enrolled as a participant in the Fund. For more information, check out our Participation page.
Please note that once you qualify for Pension Fund participation, the following options of Validation, Restoration or Transfer of Pension Rights may apply to you; we strongly suggest you read through these options and familiarize yourself with the applicable Regulations and Rules, as well as the information provided on this website, as strict application deadlines apply.
Participation in the Fund
As stipulated in article 21(a) of the UNJSPF Regulations, if you are a staff member of a UNJSPF member organization and are not expressly excluded from participation by the terms of your appointment, your participation commences upon your being granted an appointment for 6 months or more, OR upon completing 6 months of continuous service without an interruption of more than 30 days, whichever occurs first.
No, participation in the Fund is mandatory once you fulfill the requirements of article 21(a) of the UNJSPF Regulations.
No action is required on your part. If you are a staff member of a UN family organization, your employing organization informs the Fund of your contractual status and family composition by issuing a personnel action form (PA). The Fund then enrolls you as a participant by assigning a pension number, which is subsequently relayed, to you through your Administrative/ Executive Office.
On the other hand, if you are a staff member of a specialized agency, e.g. FAO, the Secretary of the Staff Pension Committee of that Agency handles your participation in the Fund. The relevant information is forwarded to the Central Secretariat of the Fund for recording in the Fund’s Participants Data Base.
Note: Your pension number (identification number assigned by the Fund) is different from your index number (identification number assigned by your employing organization).
The Pension Fund prepares a report annually (Annual Statement) that contains your personal and financial data as reported by your employing organization for the prior year. Effective from May 2004, the Annual Statement is available to you only on the Fund’s website.
It is important for you to review the Annual Statement and to contact your employing organization and/or the Pension Fund should any of the data generated appear to be inaccurate. Please remember that the Annual Statement reflects the personal and financial data reported by your employing organization(s) for the previous year(s). Thus the annual statement issued in May 2004 will contain data through 31 December 2003 and any changes in your circumstances, during 2004, will be reflected in your next annual statement available in May 2005.
Regulations & Rules
(a) Every full-time member of the staff of each member organization shall become a participant in the Fund:
(i) Upon commencing employment under an appointment for six months or longer or upon accepting such an appointment while in employment; or,
(ii) Upon completing, in the same or more than one member organization, six months of service without an interruption of more than thirty days, whichever is earlier, provided that participation is not expressly excluded by the terms of staff member’s appointment.
(b) Participation shall cease when the organization by which the participant is employed ceases to be a member organization, or when he or she dies or separates from such member organization, except that participation shall not be deemed to have ceased where a participant resumes contributory service with a member organization within 36 months after separation without a benefit having been paid.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of (b) above, a participant is deemed to have separated when he or she has completed (i) a consecutive period of three years on leave without pay without concurrent contributions having been paid in accordance with article 25(b). To re-enter the Fund, such former participant would have to satisfy the requirements for participation set out in (a) above.