As we move into 2018, the Secretary-General has addressed chronic problems besetting our Pension Fund by replacing the head of investments and placing the Chief Executive Officer on probation (three-year reappointment with continuation subject to an annual performance review).
Now the General Assembly, fed up with slow implementation by the Fund of the recommendations of the 2016 UN Board of Auditors report, zeroes in on lax oversight by the Pension Board, and requests in a year–end draft resolution a review of checks and balances between the Board and the Fund leadership.
Specifically, the GA, in paragraph 8 of its draft resolution “Requests the Secretary-General to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services with conducting a comprehensive audit of the governance structure of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund Board, to include a review of the checks and balances between the Board and the Pension Fund leadership, and to submit its report with key findings to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session ….”.
In a slap at the Board and Fund leadership, the GA in paragraph 5, “notes with serious concern the need to address all the shortcomings identified by the Board [UN Board of Auditors] including the need to ensure accurate data for the actuarial valuation, in particular the need to strengthen the internal control procedures, ensure the timely and accurate processing of benefits and, create a client grievance redressal mechanism.”
The GA also cites among its concerns:
- massive currency losses for 2016 (almost $1 billion) and almost $5 billion dollars in cumulative losses since 2013;
- Over-expenditure of staff costs owing to lack of effective and efficient management of human and financial resources of the Fund;
- High number of vacant posts, which the GA wants to be filled “in full compliance with relevant provisions governing recruitment” (sounding like a call to ditch the Memorandum of Understanding whereby the Office of Human Resources Management handed autonomy over recruitment and placement to the CEO).
- Over-expenditure of staff costs owing to lack of effective and efficient management of human and financial resources of the Fund;
- High number of vacant posts, which the GA wants to be filled “in full compliance with relevant provisions governing recruitment” (sounding like a call to ditch the Memorandum of Understanding whereby the Office of Human Resources Management handed autonomy over recruitment and placement to the CEO).
Notably, on the Secretariat side, the GA requests the Pension Board to address the causes of delays in pension payments, including those identified by the Board of Auditors regarding implementation of the new IT system (IPAS); and keep the cost of the project within approved budgetary limits.
On investments, the GA reaffirms the Secretary-General’s fiduciary responsibility for investments and the need to “avoid any action that would compromise the fiduciary responsibilities and long-term sustainability of the Fund”.
Specifically, the resolution emphasizes the importance for the sake of the Fund’s long-term sustainability of meeting its target annualized rate of return of 3.5 per cent return on investments; and requests that the SG continues to mitigate risks related to foreign exchange losses.
The resolution addresses another long-time concern in “welcom[ing] the review by the Secretary-General of the governance and compliance procedures of the Investment Management Division’s trading activities [and] encourag[ing] the SG to undertake a review of the research and trading activities of the Investment and Management Division, particularly in its selection of brokers/dealers” (para. 15) and “formalize the evaluation method before awarding or renewing the contracts of the fund managers” (para.20).
Finally, the resolution requests the SG to continue to reduce the use of “non-discretionary Advisory fees”; increase efforts in identifying potential candidates for the Investments Committee from all regional groups; decides to reduce non-post resources of the administration of the Fund by 5 per cent; approves the amount of over $22 million as the UN share of the administrative expenses of the Fund for 2018-2019; and approves the establishment of four posts, notably not including the request for establishment of a P5 position for Senior Communications Officer for the Fund.
It's important to note that the issue cited by the GA of the need for accurate actuarial data (estimate of the Fund’s liabilities) includes a matter of $287,000 paid by the Fund to Buck Consultants to perform the biennial actuarial evaluation that was rejected by the UN Board of Auditors because of unreliable information provided by the Fund.
That’s $287,000 unavailable for payments to beneficiaries, including suffering orphans and widows. Add that to the $1.8 million paid to external consultants reported to be PriceWaterhouseCoopers for services NOT included in its contract (see OIOS audit 2017/110) and that’s a sizable chunk of funds that are allowed to drain from our Fund because of mismanagement and lax Pension Board oversight.
Note also that the flawed data and irregularities in procurement and contracts are the responsibility of Fund managers who must be held responsible and accountable along with the CEO.
This call by the GA for a review of the checks and balances between the Pension Board and the Fund leadership is long overdue and responds to problems long alleged by our hardworking UN staff unions. One hopes it helps to correct the current climate of lax oversight by a complicit Pension Board leadership and helps to set our Fund on the right path.
Seventy-second
session
Agenda item 136
Resolution
adopted by the General Assembly on 24 December 2017
72/262. Special subjects relating to the proposed
programme budget for the biennium 2018–2019
EXCERPT:
PAGES 12 to 15
XV
Administrative expenses of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
Administrative expenses of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
Recalling its resolution 70/238 A of 23 December
2015, section VI of its resolution 70/248 A
and its resolution 71/265 of
23 December 2016,
Having considered the report of
the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board on the administrative expenses of
the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund,[1] the report of the
Secretary-General on the administrative and financial implications arising from
the report of the Pension Board,[2] the financial
report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016 and
the report of the Board of Auditors on the United Nations Joint Staff Pension
Fund[3] and the
recommendations contained therein, the report of the Secretary of the United
Nations Joint Staff Pension Board on the implementation of the recommendations
of the Board of Auditors contained in its report for the year ended 31 December
2016 on the Fund[4] and the related
report of the Advisory Committee,[5]
1. Takes
note of the report of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board1
and the report of the Secretary-General;2
The
General Assembly,
2. Also takes note of the report of the
Secretary of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board on the implementation
of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors contained in its report for the
year ended 31 December 2016 on the United Nations Joint Staff Pension
Fund;4
3. Endorses
the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory
Committee,5
subject to the provisions of the present resolution;
4. Notes
that the Board of Auditors issued an unqualified audit opinion on the financial
statements of the Fund for the year ended 31 December 2016;
5. Welcomes
the findings and recommendations contained in the report of the Board of
Auditors on the Fund,3
and notes with serious concern the need to address all of the shortcomings
identified by the Board, including the need to ensure the availability of
accurate data for the actuarial valuation, and in particular the need to
strengthen the internal control procedures, ensure the timely and accurate
processing of benefits and create a client grievance redressal mechanism;
6. Notes
with concern the slow progress of implementation of the recommendations of
the Board of Auditors, and urges the Secretary-General and the Pension Board to
take appropriate measures expeditiously to address this issue;
7. Notes
the overexpenditure under other staff costs for the biennium
2016–2017, and stresses the importance of effective and efficient management of human and financial resources by the Fund;
2016–2017, and stresses the importance of effective and efficient management of human and financial resources by the Fund;
8. Requests
the Secretary-General to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services with
the conduct of a comprehensive audit of the governance structure of the Pension
Board, including a review of the checks and balances between the Board and the
leadership of the Fund, and requests the Office to submit a report with key
findings to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session, to be considered
in the context of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund;
9. Notes
with concern the issues identified in the report of the Board of Auditors
regarding the implementation of the Integrated Pension Administration System,
requests the Pension Board to address these issues, and looks forward to
receiving an update on progress thereon in the context of the next report of
the Pension Board;
10. Requests
the Pension Board to ensure that the cost and scope of the Integrated Pension
Administration System project are kept within approved budgetary limits;
11. Notes
the progress made with regard to the processing time of benefits payments in
2016, expresses concern at the continued delays in the receipt of payments by
some new beneficiaries and retirees of the Fund, once again stresses the need
for the Pension Board to take appropriate steps to ensure that the Fund
addresses the causes of such delays, and in this regard requests an update in
the context of the next report of the Pension Board;
12. Notes
with concern the high number of vacant posts, and in this regard requests
the Secretary-General and the Pension Board to take appropriate measures to
fill all of the vacant posts in the Fund, in full compliance with relevant
provisions governing recruitment;
13. Welcomes
the establishment of the pilot service centre in Nairobi, as well as the
proposed establishment of a regional service centre in Asia, and requests the
secretariat of the Fund to present to the General Assembly at the main part of
its seventy-third session a comprehensive strategy to bring the service centres
to full functionality;
14. Emphasizes
the importance of the Fund meeting its target annual real rate of return of 3.5 per
cent, and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to continue to improve
the investment performance of the Fund and to report thereon in the context of
future reports on the investments of the Fund;
15. Welcomes
the review conducted by the Secretary-General of the governance and compliance
procedures of the Investment Management Division with regard to its trading
activities, and in this regard encourages the Secretary-General to undertake a
review of the research and trading activities of the Division, in particular
its selection of brokers and dealers, and to report thereon in the context of
the report of the Pension Board no later than at the seventy-fourth session of
the General Assembly;
16. Expresses
concern that for the calendar year 2016, the Fund suffered currency losses
of 679,900,000 dollars, and that the Fund has incurred cumulative losses of
4,680,000,000 dollars since 2013, and urges the Secretary-General to continue
to employ suitable procedures and tools to mitigate risks related to foreign
exchange losses;
17. Reaffirms
that, in accordance with article 19 of the regulations of the Fund, the
Secretary-General serves as fiduciary for the investment of the assets of the
Fund and has fiduciary responsibility for deciding upon the investment of the
assets of the Fund;
18. Stresses
the need to avoid any action that would compromise the fiduciary
responsibilities and long-term sustainability of the Fund;
19. Requests
the Secretary-General, as fiduciary for the investment of the assets of the
Fund, to continue to diversify its investments between developed, developing
and emerging markets, wherever this serves the interests of the participants
and the beneficiaries of the Fund, and also requests the Secretary-General to
ensure that decisions concerning the investments of the Fund in any market are
implemented prudently, taking fully into account the four main criteria for
investment, namely safety, profitability, liquidity and convertibility;
20. Requests
the Fund to incorporate provisions on the duration of contracts and formalize
the method of evaluation before awarding contracts to or renewing the contracts
of the Fund managers;
21. Recalls
paragraph 29 of its resolution 69/113
of 10 December 2014, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to
explore cost-saving measures additional to the reduction in the use of
non-discretionary advisory fees, as appropriate;
22. Also
recalls paragraph 21 (c) of the terms of reference of the Investments
Committee of the Fund, and requests the Secretary-General to increase efforts
to identify potential candidates for the Investments Committee from all
regional groups;
23. Decides
to reduce non-post resources for the administration of the Fund by 5 per
cent;
24. Takes
note of paragraph 31 of the report of the Advisory Committee;
25. Decides to establish the four
additional posts set out in the table below:
26. Also decides to postpone
consideration of the proposed reclassification of three posts, and requests the
secretariat of the Fund to provide further information in the context of the
next report of the Pension Board;
27. Approves the revised estimates of 174,964,300
dollars for the biennium 2016–2017 for the administration of the Fund;
28. Also approves expenses, chargeable
directly to the Fund, totalling 169,467,900 dollars net for the biennium
2018–2019;
29. Further approves the amount of
22,191,900 dollars as the United Nations share of the cost of the
administrative expenses of the Fund for the biennium
2018–2019, of which 14,114,000 dollars would represent the share of the regular budget and the balance of 8,077,900 dollars would represent the share of the funds and programmes;
2018–2019, of which 14,114,000 dollars would represent the share of the regular budget and the balance of 8,077,900 dollars would represent the share of the funds and programmes;
30. Approves the reduction of 390,400
dollars in the United Nations share of the cost of the administrative expenses
of the central secretariat of the Fund under section 1, Overall
policymaking, direction and coordination, of the proposed programme budget for
the biennium 2018–2019, which would represent a charge against the contingency
fund;
31. Authorizes the Pension Board to
supplement the voluntary contributions to the Emergency Fund for the biennium
2018–2019 by an amount not to exceed 225,000 dollars;
[1] A/72/383.
[2] A/C.5/72/2.
[3] Official Records of the General
Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 5P (A/72/5/Add.16).
[4] A/72/364.
[5] A/72/7/Add.23.
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