Takes note of the report of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board,1 and in particular the action taken by the Board as set out in chapter II.B of the report;
2
Notes that the report of the Board of Auditors on the accounts of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund for the biennium ended 31 December 2007 indicated that the financial statements presented fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund and that the transactions tested as part of the audit were, in all significant respects, in accordance with the Regulations and Rules of the Fund and legislative authority;6
6See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-third Session, Supplement No. 9 (A/63/9), annex VIII.
3
Endorses the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,4 subject to the provisions of the present resolution;
I.Administrative arrangements, revised budget and longer-term objectives of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
4
Takes note of the information set out in paragraphs 180 to 197 of the report of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board1 on the revised budget estimates for the biennium 2008–2009;
5
Approves the increase of 2,204,000 United States dollars in total additional resources for the biennium 2008–2009, noting that the revised estimates for the biennium would amount to a total appropriation of 153,199,100 dollars;
II.Benefit provisions
6
Endorses the decision taken by the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board in 2007, in which it reaffirmed its earlier decision maintaining that the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund should determine entitlements to pension benefits, in particular under articles 34 and 35 of the Regulations of the Fund, which cover spousal benefits, in accordance with the personal status of a participant as recognized and reported to the Fund by the participant’s employing organization, on the understanding that the final verification that the personal status has remained the same will be done by the Fund at the time of granting such pension benefits;
7
Approves the changes in the benefit provisions that would streamline the application of the relevant provisions governing family members or former family members under articles 35 bis, 35 ter and 36, as set out in annex XIV to the report of the Board;1
8
Also approves the amendment to article 24 (b) of the Regulations of the Fund, as set out in annex XIV to the report of the Board, which would allow participants who return to active contributory service after a period of disability to count such periods of disability as contributory service without requiring the participant to pay contributions for that period;
9
Further approves the agreement of the Board to clarify that the scope of the revision in 2006 of article 24, concerning the elimination of the limitation on the right to restoration based on years of prior service, did not cover only those participants who had received a withdrawal settlement, but also those who had elected a deferred retirement benefit (full or partial) as long as no periodic benefit payments of their deferred benefit had been made, as set out in paragraphs 329 and 330 of the report of the Board, and as clarified in the technical amendments to the Regulations of the Fund, set out in annex XIV to the report of the Board;
III.Other matters
10
Welcomes the information that all the committees of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund had been presented and the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board had approved a declaration of conflict of interest, which referred to the mandate and the focus of each committee and covered the status, conduct and accountability of the members of the Investments Committee, the Committee of Actuaries and the Audit Committee;
11
Decides, upon the affirmative recommendation of the Board, that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon shall be admitted as a new member organization of the Fund, effective 1 January 2009;
12
Emphasizes that the United Nations and other member organizations of the Fund should ensure the timely and accurate processing of documentation, including, inter alia, a certification that all suitable arrangements are in place to ensure that all debts to such organizations are paid in full, as required by the Fund for the payment of benefits;
13
Takes note of the information provided by the Fund on the status of the ongoing implementation of resolution 62/241 regarding the one-time, ex gratia, exceptional payment to retirees residing in Ecuador;
IV.Investments of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
14
Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the investments of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and steps and efforts undertaken to increase diversification2 and the observations of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, as set out in its report;1
15
Approves the inclusion of contractual settlement provisions in the agreement with the Global Custodian of the Fund, under the strict terms and conditions and for the purposes recommended by the Representative of the Secretary-General and the Board, and upon legal terms and conditions in such agreement that maximize the protection of the legal interests of the Fund;
16
Welcomes the continued effort of the Secretary-General, as fiduciary for the investment of the assets of the Fund, to diversify its investments between developed markets and emerging markets, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, under the current volatile market conditions, decisions concerning the investments of the Fund in any country should be implemented very cautiously, fully taking into account the four main criteria for investment, namely, safety, profitability, liquidity and convertibility.
