The local track pension is calculated by converting the value of your dollar track (see above) on the first day of your retirement, at an average exchange rate between the United States Dollar and the currency of your country of residence (this average is computed over the 36 consecutive calendar months up to and including the month of your separation from service). Once established, it will be adjusted, based on the cost of living of your country of residence.

Once you elect to switch to the Two-Track, you would now have two pension values, i.e., Dollar Track and Local Track. Each quarter, the Fund shall compare these two values and pay you the higher amount, subject to a maximum amount (which is 110% of the value of the Local Track value) and a minimum (which is 80% of your Dollar Track Value). Such feature provides stability as it avoids fluctuation of the monthly pension in local currency terms.

Your pension will evolve over time based on inflation and shall be adjusted generally on an annual basis, provided that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has moved by at least 2% since the last adjustment. The dollar track pension is adjusted by the movement of the United States CPI, while the local track pension is adjusted by the movement of the CPI of the country of residence.

To find out whether the Two-Track system may be advantageous, you may wish to contact the Fund at any time after you separate from service to obtain an estimate that would contain the 36 months average exchange rate applicable to you.

Once you have submitted proof of your country of residence you remain permanently on the Two-Track system. You will not be able to revert solely to the dollar track unless you meet the conditions outlined in section N of the UNJSPF Pension Adjustment System. In countries where a currency undergoes devaluation without offsetting adjustments for inflation, opting for the Two-Track system may result in your receiving less in US dollar terms than you would receive had you remained solely on the US dollar track.

Therefore, it is essential that you consider very carefully the question of whether and when to submit proof of residence to qualify for the Two-Track adjustment system.

No, the requirement is that a beneficiary must be spending at least six months of every year in his or her declared country of residence. The question is not one of “legal residence”, but of actual physical presence.

You must submit a certificate of residence as proof of residence (POR), a form called The Declaration of Country of Residence (form Pens.E/10), which can be downloaded here, and supporting POR (such a recent utility bills, recent tax declaration, passport/local ID showing full name, date of birth, signature, issuance and expiration date, mailing address). The certificate of residence varies depending on the country of residence. Examples of acceptable proofs of residence, and additional supporting POR documents are available here.

You may provide proof of residence at any time after your date of separation. If you provide acceptable proof of residence within six months of your benefit coming into payment, the Two-Track system would become effective from the date on which the benefit payments commenced.

If proof of residence is received after the initial six-month period, your benefit would still be recalculated as from the date of your entitlement, but payment under the Two-Track system would begin only from the quarter following the one in which the proof of residence was received.

There are two ways of submitting documents to the Fund:

1. You can mail the original form PENS.E10 affixed with your signature in original ink along with the original certificate of residence via certified mail with receipt confirmation and tracking information to the Fund at the address available on our Contact us page.
2. You can upload the original form PENS.E10 affixed with your signature in original ink along with the original certificate of residence using the Member Self-Service Document upload feature.

If you relocate to the USA, then your local-currency track would be the same as your dollar track as long as you continue to reside in the USA. In this scenario, you would also remain subject to the Two-Track pension adjustment system and should you subsequently relocate you would have to provide proof of residence in the new country.

Your stable entitlement is the local-currency track amount only.

Any extra income generated by the exchange rate variations, i.e. movement within the 10 per cent CAP (formerly 20%) over the local track amount, should be viewed as a temporary bonus resulting from the financial markets fluctuation and does not represent, as often erroneously perceived, a permanent acquired right.

The designation of geographic areas for the purpose of the two-track feature is driven by the availability of data from the United Nations Statistics Division through the Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, and is not influenced by a geographic area’s sovereign or political status. The designations employed and the presentation of material on this site do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

From time-to-time in a given country, the conditions relating to inflation and the exchange rate with the US dollar lead to the two-track feature not performing in the way that is fair to all beneficiaries within that country. Notably, it can lead to unintended inequalities between different groups of two-track beneficiaries in the country. To addresses such issues, under the Pension Adjustment System, the UNJSPF may suspend in the two-track in the affected country. 

In compliance with paragraphs 26(a) and (b) of the Pension Adjustment System, the Chief Executive of Pension Administration is authorized to suspend the two-track feature in a country primarily based on one of the following conditions: 

• Local-currency track amounts exhibit wide fluctuations, contingent upon the benefit commencement date; or
• Up-to-date Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is not available. 

The UNJSPF undertakes a comprehensive assessment of the fluctuation of current two-track benefits, comparing the impact of the two-track on benefit amounts depending on the benefit commencement date – in alignment with the Paragraph 26 of the PAS. This assessment considers the extent to which, for benefits that should be equal (for example, individuals with the same final average remuneration and contributory service), the actual benefit levels vary across different groups of beneficiaries who separated on different dates. The analysis is based on the ratio of the local-currency track (LCT) over the US dollar track (DT) benefit, across benefit commencement dates spanning a long period. Where there is a high level of disparity between beneficiaries based solely on the date when their benefit commenced, the two-track is considered for suspension in that country.

Typically, the Fund would contemplate a suspension when there is an absence of at least three years of CPI data in the United Nations Monthly Bulletin of Statistics.

High inflation alone does not necessarily mean that a country should be suspended from the two-track. The applicability of two-track depends on the result of both inflation and the exchange rate over a period of time. The Fund will closely monitor the situation in a given country and will promptly inform retirees and beneficiaries if a country is to be suspended from the two-track.

While the current situation in a given country may be regarded as stable, the applicability of the two-track must be considered over a range of separation dates and is therefore also connected to historical inflation and exchange rates. Where a country has experienced different economic circumstances in the past, over time this can create inequalities between beneficiaries with different separation dates, whose benefit amounts should otherwise be similar.

For example, if a beneficiary’s benefit commencement date falls within a preceding period of instability, their benefit may be significantly different to a beneficiary with a benefit commencement date during more stable times. When such differences become material, the country may be suspended from the two-track in the interests of fairness between different cohorts of beneficiaries in that particular country.

The applicability of the two-track must be considered over a range of separation dates (typically 30 years). This means that in practice for Eurozone countries, the two-track continues to be influenced by pre-Euro situation. The UNJSPF undertakes a comprehensive assessment of the fluctuation of current two-track benefits, taking into account both exchange rate fluctuations and inflation, for each country. In instances where there is a high level of disparity between beneficiaries residing in a given country based solely on the date when their benefit commenced, the two-track is considered for suspension in that specific country.

In line with paragraph 26(c) of the Pension Adjustment System, a suspended country will continue to remain in suspension until the Fund can ensure with confidence that local-currency track (LCT) can be expected to consistently preserve the purchasing power of the monthly pension benefit as established in the currency of the recipient’s country.