Death

Notification of death

If you need to inform the Fund about the death of a retiree/beneficiary or about the death of your dependents, please send an email to [email protected] providing the following information:

a) The deceased’s full name;
b) The deceased’s date of birth;
c) The date of death (day/month/year);
d) The deceased’s Pension Fund reference number (UNJSPF Unique ID or Retirement number), if known;
e) The deceased’s official mailing address;

If possible, kindly also include:
f) Contact details for the surviving family;
g) An original or a certified copy of the deceased’s death certificate (which should be sent to the Fund as soon as possible);
h) Any additional information that could be helpful.

Please note that the [email protected] email address is ONLY for reporting the death of a retiree or beneficiary of the UNJSPF. For any other subject, please contact us at any of the phone numbers and addresses provided on our Contact Us page or submit a message using the Contact Form available on the same page.

For more information on benefits payable after the death of a retiree/beneficiary, please consult the following pages:

Survivor's benefits

Residual Settlement

FAQs

What happens if die? How should my survivors inform the Fund?

Upon the death of a retiree or a participant, a family member or other representative must notify the Fund as soon as possible and provide a certified copy of the official death certificate. The Fund will then determine what survivor’s benefits are payable.

A late notification of the death of a retiree receiving benefit payments can lead to an overpayment which will be recovered by the Fund from the retiree’s estate or from benefits payable to his/her survivors.

Check the Survivor's benefits page for more info.

How can I ensure the Fund has my dependent’s information?

If you are an active participant of the Fund, please ensure that all dependents, their names and dates of birth are correctly reported to your organization and all information is correctly reflected on your personnel action forms (PAFs). The information you report to your employing organization (HR Office), is relayed to the Fund via your PAFs and then included in your Pension Fund records.

Remember, after the date of your separation from service, you will not be allowed to add dependents or request changes to their dates of birth or spelling of their names.

If you have separated from service, please ensure the Fund has the all of the following documents applicable to you:

a copy of your valid photo ID document (e.g. Passport or other valid official, government-issued photo ID, carrying your names, date of birth and signature – the “UN Laissez-passer” is NOT a valid ID document).
a copy of your marriage certificate/s.
a copy of your divorce decree/s.
a copy of your spouse’s official, government-issued photo ID and/or of any former spouse/s.
a copy of the birth certificate(s) of your dependent child(ren) under 21 years of age.
a copy of death certificate(s) for spouse(s), ex-spouse(s), child(ren).

What happens with my pension when I die if I was never married and have no children, or if none of my survivors is eligible for a survivor’s benefit from the Fund?

If a participant dies in service or prior to being paid a pension benefit

If there is a benefit payable to the participant’s widow(er), divorced surviving spouse, children or secondary dependants no other payments are due under the Fund’s Regulations.

If there is no survivor’s benefit payable to his/her widow(er), divorced surviving spouse, children or secondary dependants, the Fund will make a payment to the person(s) or institution(s) of his/her choice as indicated on the latest signed and dated original “Designation of Recipient of a Residual Settlement” form (PENS.A/2 Form), which he/she submitted to the Fund. This payment, which will consist of all his/her contributions plus interest, is called a residual settlement, and is paid as a onetime lump sum payment (see Article 38 of the Fund’s Regulations).

If there is no duly filled out, dated and signed Pension Fund PENS.A/2 Form in the Fund’s records, an amount will be paid to the late participant’s estate as a residual settlement.

If a beneficiary dies when already in receipt of a periodic benefit

If there is a benefit payable to the participant/retiree’s widow(er), divorced surviving spouse, children or secondary dependants no other payments are due under the Fund’s Regulations.

Furthermore, in the case of a retiree’s death, there will not be a residual settlement payment due to his/her estate if he/she had elected to be paid, upon separation from service, the maximum lump-sum commutation of the benefit allowed (equivalent to the greater of the actuarial equivalent of 1/3 of the benefit or total contributions with compound interest), and the balance as a reduced monthly pension.

However, if there is no survivor’s benefit payable to the participant/retiree’s widow(er), divorced surviving spouse, children or secondary dependents, and, in the case of a retiree, he/she has not elected to be paid, upon separation from service, the maximum lump-sum commutation of the benefit allowed, the Fund will examine whether there is entitlement to payment of a residual settlement. A residual settlement is payable only if the total amount of the benefits paid to and on account of the late participant/retiree (including any survivor’s benefit) is less than the late participant/retiree’s own contributions to the Fund. In that event, the difference would be paid to the person(s) and/or institution(s) designated as a recipient by the late participant or retiree on the Pension Fund’s PENS.A/2 Form.

If there is no duly filled out, dated and signed Pension Fund PENS.A/2 Form in the Fund’s records, an amount will be paid to the late participant/retiree’s estate as a residual settlement.

What should I do if my spouse or dependent child dies?

You must notify the Fund as soon as possible and provide a death certificate so that your family situation can be updated in your Pension Fund records and appropriate action can be taken.