Disability Benefit

13 December 2021

Disability Benefit

General information

Once you are close to exhausting your sick leave entitlements, your HR Office will liaise with the Medical Services or your employing organization to determine if you should be considered for a disability benefit. In order to be considered for a disability benefit, you will be required to provide your treating physician’s detailed medical report to your employing organization’s Medical Services and they will provide a recommendation to the Staff Pension Committee, which will award the benefit if they are satisfied that there is sufficient medical evidence to establish that your illness or injury qualifies you for the benefit.

What is a disability benefit?

A disability benefit is payable to a participant in the Fund, who is determined by the Staff Pension Committee of his/her member organization to be incapacitated for further service in a member organization in a position reasonably compatible with his/her abilities, and if the illness or injury is likely to be permanent or of long duration.

How much is a disability benefit?

The amount of the benefit is roughly equivalent to the retirement benefit you would have received if you had continued working until your normal retirement age at the same level and step when the disability benefit is granted.

Consideration for a disability benefit

What is the process to be considered for a disability benefit?

What do I have to do?

In order to be considered for a disability benefit, you will be required to provide your treating physician’s detailed medical report to your employing organization’s Medical Services and they will provide a recommendation to the Staff Pension Committee, which will award the benefit if they are satisfied that there is sufficient medical evidence to establish that your illness or injury qualifies you for the benefit.

What if I have separated from service and I believe I should have been considered for a disability benefit?

If you have been separated from service but you believe that you should have been considered for a disability benefit but your former employing organization never explored the possibility, you may submit a request directly to the secretary of the Staff Pension Committee of your former employing organization. A request for a disability benefit must be submitted no later than four months after the date of separation or commencement of leave without pay. A late submission may be accepted by the Staff Pension Committee, but only if exceptional circumstances justify it.

Payment of a disability benefit

When is a disability benefit payable?

A disability payment starts after you have separated from service of your organization, or if your organization agrees to retain you on leave without pay, after all your paid leave entitlements (sick leave on full pay and half-pay and annual leave) have been exhausted.

Is a disability benefit paid in a lump sum?

No, a disability benefit cannot be commuted into a lump sum, either in whole or in part. This means you cannot elect to take a partial lump sum commutation at any time. Therefore, if you are at an age when you would normally be eligible for an early retirement benefit or normal retirement benefit, and have at least five years of contributory service, you may wish to take a retirement or early retirement benefit (in which case you might be entitled to a lump sum commutation), rather than be considered for a disability benefit.

How long does a disability benefit last?

A disability benefit is paid for as long as you remain incapacitated within the meaning of the Pension Fund’s Regulations. After you reach the age at which you would normally have been entitled to receive an early retirement benefit, the disability will be deemed permanent and the benefit will be paid for the rest of your life. There is no possibility for the benefit to be converted to a retirement benefit once you reach what would have been your normal retirement age.

Periodic review

Is the benefit subject to periodic review?

Once a disability benefit has been awarded, you will be required to undergo to a medical examination from time to time to prove that your incapacity continues to warrant payment of the benefit. Your case will be reviewed for a last time once you reach the age at which you would normally have been eligible to receive an early retirement benefit at which time if there is sufficient evidence, the disability will be deemed permanent and the benefit will be payable for the rest of your life. The review is undertaken by the Staff Pension Committee of your former employing organization that awarded you the benefit. You will be required to submit a medical report to the Medical Services of your former employing organization for purposes of the review. If you fail to undergo the required periodic medical examination, payment of the benefit may be suspended until you do so. If the results of the examination are found to be inconclusive, payment may be suspended until further evidence of incapacity is received.

Can I appeal the decision to award or deny me a disability benefit?

Yes, in accordance with Section K of the Fund’s Administrative Rules, you can request the Staff Pension Committee that considered your case to review its decision. If they uphold their previous decision, you can appeal the decision to the Standing Committee of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board and thereafter to the United Nations Appeals Tribunal.

Recovery

What happens if I recover from the disability?

If there is sufficient medical evidence that you have recovered from your disability, you should submit a medical report to the Medical Services of your former employing organization. A recommendation for discontinuance of the benefit will be submitted to the Staff Pension Committee of your former employing organization, which will make the decision to discontinue the benefit. If you are re-employed by a member organization of the Fund, your contributory service will be restored and you will re-enter the Fund as a participant. If you are not re-employed by a member organization of the Pension Fund, you can choose to receive either (a) a deferred retirement benefit –if your contributory service was 5 years or more – or (b) a withdrawal settlement.

Additional eligibility

Does my disabled child qualify for a benefit?

If the child of a former participant who has passed away or who is in receipt of a normal retirement benefit or early retirement benefit is disabled, a benefit may be payable to the child provided that the child was reported as disabled at the time of the participant's separation from service and meets the requirements of Article 36(b) of the Fund's Regulations. A medical report will have to be submitted to the Medical Services of the former participant’s employing organization. It must be established that the child is incapacitated by illness or injury for substantial gainful employment. The Staff Pension Committee of your former employing organization also decides on child disability cases. The UNJSPF Regulations allow for the commencement of the payment of a disabled child’s benefit at the same time as an early retirement benefit. For a child who is under the age of 21 at the time of the staff member’s separation from service and for whom a regular child benefit is payable, provided the child has been reported to the Fund as disabled at the time of separation from service, the child’s eligibility to receive a disability benefit will be considered by the Staff Pension Committee of the former participant’s employing organization when the child turns 21.

Who else can qualify for a disability benefit?

If you are the surviving brother or sister and the secondary dependent of a Pension Fund participant, who has passed away and leaves no spouse or child who is entitled to or has received at any time a benefit, you might in exceptional circumstances be entitled to a disability benefit that is the equivalent of a child’s benefit.