FORMER FAO AND OTHER UN STAFF ASSOCIATION FFOA PROVISIONAL REPORT

Transcription

1 FORMER FAO AND OTHER UN STAFF ASSOCIATION FFOA FFOA/GA/2013/03 PROVISIONAL REPORT Forty-second Session of the General Assembly Wednesday 30 th May 2012 at 09:30 hours The Plenary Hall FAO Headquarters 1. Opening of the Forty-second Session of the General Assembly by the President of FFOA The President of FFOA, Mr Anton Doeve, opened the session at 09:35 hours. Esteemed Guests, Members of FFOA, Dear Friends and all those who, with their presence, enhance the significance of this General Assembly. I warmly welcome you all and thank you for attending this meeting which, for a variety of reasons, deserves somewhat more and closer attention from the FFOA members than could otherwise be expected. First of all, as you have already been informed, this is the last year of the present mandate of the FFOA Executive Committee, which means that later in the year, after the summer holidays, to be precise, an election will take place to determine the composition of the next Executive Committee whose mandate will cover the years 2013, 2014 and You have already received the first set of election documents and the remaining ones will be despatched following the re-opening of the FFOA Offices after the summer closure. The important question, which arises before each such election, is to which degree qualified members will decide to participate in this election and confirm their decision to stand for election as one of the 11 member team which will have the responsibility to formulate the priorities of our Association, plan their implementation and carry out such followup actions as may be required. I have had the privilege to have been elected as the President of the Executive Committee during the past twelve years and my experience with the elections which took place during that period has invariably demonstrated that the success or lack of an election depends on the decision of qualified members to stand for election and add their names to the list of potential members of the next Executive Committee. The basic question is, therefore, which character we want our Association to possess: should it be active and become deeply involved in achieving a high level of protection of its member s interests through active participation in the various committees created for these purposes or are we content to let things develop as they may as long as we do not have to commit our time and effort In other words: are we going to try to influence the course of affairs for the good of our association and our fellow-members or shall we be content to be by-standers, amused by the efforts of the few who did commit themselves? The choice is yours but if you feel that you still belong to that family of former UN people, who have actively contributed to improving the lives of those less fortunate than us, and then you will also want to take part in the coming election. We all, as we are sitting here, have of course many more yesterdays than we have tomorrows and, the same may also apply to some of our esteemed guests who certainly are among the youngest of those present here today and whom we like to think of as our future members. However, since each yesterday is followed by a today which, in turn is followed by a tomorrow, we should be looking towards our future which increases its value each day, precisely because there is less of it. And in our future we will rely more and more on the assistance and services of the two pillars of our daily existence which are represented here today and will, later on, answer the questions we may ask, namely the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and the Social Security Service of

2 Page 2 of 12 pages FAO whose representatives I hereby welcome very warmly and would like to thank most cordially for having taken the time to join us today. And then, there is a third entity, which could not be represented today, but on which we pensioners rely more and more as our days advance, and that is Vanbreda which settles our medical claims promptly even though we do not always agree with its calculation of what we believe we are entitled to. During the remainder of this year information sessions will be organised in order to allow you to ask the Vanbreda representative why they calculate your claims their way rather than your way. That meeting will also be a welcome occasion to be accompanied by whoever will, one day, become what in UN jargon is called your surviving spouse. How many of you have explained to your future surviving spouse how to fill in the Vanbreda claims form and where to find it on the websites of Vanbreda or FFOA? Quite often I receive surviving spouses in my office who are desperate because their deceased spouse never bothered to explain to them how to go about finding and completing the claims form, even the printed version which is available in the FFOA Office, let alone the electronic ones. I praise one of our members, who told me some time ago that he had explained to his wife how to go about it and that she would prepare their medical claims for the coming year. The number of active members of our Association has slowly increased during the past years. However, that number could be greater if every annual member would pay their annual membership contribution on time. Life members have, of course, paid for what they estimated to be their life span but if they are lucky enough to have outlived that period, perhaps they might wish to tempt their fate once more? FFOA is now and has always been the third largest Association of UN Pensioners which are members of FAFICS, the federation of all UN Pensioners associations, and it was one of its founding members. I therefore appeal to all of you to allow us to maintain that position and safeguard it for the future generations of retired UN staff members! Let us not forget that retirement is also the beginning of a new phase of our lives, that it is like re-awakening in a different land where new values and certainties exist which shape our thoughts and the importance we give to the different tasks we perform. It is probably the only period left to us when we can start doing our own things the way we always wanted to but never were able to or had time for. It can be a period of self-discovery when we find that we possess abilities to perform tasks we never expected to find in ourselves and which bring to life new aspects of our personalities we never suspected were there... And that, dear friends, is where the undiscovered wealth of our future lies, the power to explore our hidden strengths and talents, the freedom to do and realize what we always wanted to achieve. The future of one of our members is the concern of all our members because we all belong to the same family of Senior Citizens of the United Nations and should look after each other when needed. I wish for all of you a secure, safe and strong future for many more years to come! And now, it is my pleasure to open the 42 nd Session of the General Assembly of FFOA. Thank you! 2. Establishment of a quorum and announcement of the number of proxies Mr Doeve announced that a quorum was present in accordance with the Association's Statutes. About 150 members were present and 21 proxies had been received. 3. Mr Maurice Purnell and Ms Annemarie Waeschle were nominated rapporteurs. Ms Marta Bochicchio and Ms Rosa Maria Buri provided simultaneous English-Italian interpretation. Mr Alex Van Arkadie made photographic records of the meeting. 4. Election of the Chairman of the Forty-second Session of the General Assembly Mr Doeve proposed that Mr Aurelio Marcucci, a well-known member of the FFOA Executive Committee and Honorary President, should chair this Assembly, and he was elected by acclamation. Mr Marcucci thanked the participants for the confidence shown by proposing and electing him as Chairman of the Assembly. 5. Adoption of the Provisional Agenda As no proposals for changes to the Provisional Agenda had been received, it was adopted. 6. The Draft Report of the 41st Session of the General Assembly held on 25 th May 2011 The Draft Report had been circulated with Newsbrief 81. Mr Marcucci asked if there were any questions and the report was adopted without comment by the General Assembly under resolution FFOA/GA/2012/06.

3 7. Address by the Representative of the Director General of FAO Page 3 of 12 pages Mr Nicholas Nelson, ADG, CS, spoke on behalf of the Director-General of FAO. Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to welcome you to FAO for the 42nd Annual Assembly of FFOA. I would also like to extend my welcome to the Representatives from IFAD, WFP and the guests from the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund. The Director-General, Mr. Graziano da Silva has asked me to convey to you his greetings and his best wishes for a successful meeting. Mr. Graziano da Silva was elected Director-General of FAO by the Conference on 26 June 2011 and commenced office on 1 January He has worked on issues of food security, rural development and agriculture for over 30 years. Prior to his election as DG, he headed the Organization s regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean between 2006 and Since January this year, new initiatives have been launched in FAO. A strategic thinking process has been initiated to identify the development trends and emerging challenges in food security and agriculture, and how to organize FAO to respond to them effectively. The process is based on consultation with staff, discussions with member nations, and inputs from an external strategy experts panel. The Regional Conferences which took place during March through of May of this year were part of these consultations. The dialogue will continue at the forthcoming Council in mid June where the results of the review of the strategic framework will also be presented. FAO has adopted measures to quicken the implementation of the Immediate Plan of Action (adopted by the Conference in 2008). The focus is on the realization of benefits and the implementation of the most important goals of the Reform is expected to be completed in The Organization has placed emphasis on decentralization and made concrete proposals for improving delivery of results at country level as well as to reinforcing FAO s regional and global work. For example, one element of decentralization is the integration of development and emergency activities to ensure better results. In addition, the administrative functions in FAO have been under continuous review. Since January of this year, the Corporate Services department has undertaken a critical review of all of its posts and was able to identify additional savings through streamlining of business practices. Key documents on the IPA, the structure and functioning of decentralized offices, further adjustments to the PWB and an outline of the reviewed Strategic Framework for the future work of the Organization are available on the WEB and will be discussed at the forthcoming Council session in June. Let me now turn to some of the social security issues that might be of interest to you. In the course of the meeting, Mr Breschi, Chief, Social Security and his team will provide you with information related to the pension fund and the medical schemes. Mr. Cochemé, Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension (UNJSPF) Fund will make a detailed presentation and answer questions that you may have. UN Pensions. Regarding the Pension Fund, I am pleased to announce that the 2011 Annual Report indicates that the assets of the Fund are close to US$ 43 billion and that the investments are continuously outperforming the policy benchmark. It might be of interest to you that on 1 April 2012 there was a 4.5 per cent adjustment of the US$ pensions, based on the movement of the US Consumer Price Index over the one-year period December 2010 to December For those of you who are on the local currency track and reside in Italy, there has been an increase of 3.2 per cent in your pension effective 1 April This increase will be reflected in the July pension payment. The upcoming Pension Board to be held in July 2012 in Paris has a heavy agenda, covering over 40 items, including the actuarial valuation of the Pension Fund, Fund investments, governance matters, and administrative and benefit issues. The Board will also review a document providing an update on the discussions regarding a possible increase of the mandatory age of separation. You will recall that last year there was concern among staff and retirees about the dollar exchange fluctuation which was discussed at the Board meeting in July This year, the Board will consider a report on the monitoring of the impact of currency fluctuations on UNSPF pension benefits and hopefully adopt measures to address these problems adequately. On the occasion of the announced retirement of Mr. Cochemé at the end of this year, let me take the opportunity to thank Mr Cochemé for his dedicated and outstanding work over the past 12 years. Dear Bernard, it was a great pleasure working with you. Medical Insurance. Despite being affected by fluctuations in US$/EUR exchange rates that characterized the last years, the Medical Insurance Plan has performed better than expected thanks, predominantly to the various cost containment measures put in place in recent years which are consistently reviewed and improved. In 2011 the Plan was able to retain the same level of premiums payable to insurers for both the US Dollar and the Euro Scheme. I am pleased to announce that, thanks to the Organization s efforts and the close monitoring by the Joint Advisory Committee on Medical coverage, the premiums for 2012 remain unchanged.

4 Page 4 of 12 pages Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, FFOA acts as FAO s partner in providing valuable information and assistance to you. Over the years, the collaboration between FFOA and the Organization has been excellent and we would like to assure the Association that FAO will continue to cooperate with FFOA for the benefit of the retiree community. Your Association unites former civil servants from FAO, IFAD, WFP and a number of other UN Organizations represented in Rome. The occasion of the FFOA Annual Assembly provides once a year the opportunity for former UN staff to meet and discuss issues of common interest. For us in FAO, it provides the chance to see again many of our former colleagues with whom we worked successfully in the past. In conclusion, let me thank you all for the contributions you have made during your years of service with the Organization and for your continued interest and support. Thank you for your attention. 8. Mr Marcucci thanked Mr Nelson for his statement and FAO for the collaboration and support during the years, which have been very helpful to the Association. 9. Address by the Representative of the Executive Director of the World Food Programme Mr George Heymell, Deputy Director, Human Resources, WFP, made the following statement: I wish you a good morning and I am pleased to be here today. The new Executive Director of WFP, Ms Ertharin Cousin sends you her greetings and her regrets of not being able to attend your meeting today. To the former WFP staff among you, I am also bringing warm regards from the WFP staff in Rome and all the offices around the world. Having served with WFP for 25 years myself, I am very happy to see old friends and colleagues among you who I have had the pleasure and privilege to work with and to be able to see you in such great shape. Since 5 April, Ms. Cousin is WFP s new Executive Director, continuing a line of dynamic women who provide strong leadership to the world s largest humanitarian organisation and who make sure that we continue to provide support to the world s hungry poor people in the most effective and efficient way. As we are gathered here, WFP is heavily engaged in providing support to the victims of a rapidly deteriorating crisis in the Sahel, where drought and human conflict have put the lives of millions of people in danger. We are in the process of mounting an Emergency Operation that will mobilise assistance for 9 million people in 8 countries, ranging from Senegal and Mauritania in the west to Chad in the east. While we are fighting to mobilise the much-needed assistance for the Sahel, we also try to address the needs of people in South Sudan. Here conflict has not only forced people to flee their homes, but it has also resulted in rising food prices, while at the same time poor rainfall has resulted in a harvest reduced by nearly 20 percent. Border closures further exacerbate the situation and consequently 2.7 million people need our help to provide them with 150,000 tons of much needed food. Over the last year, WFP has provided assistance to almost 100 million beneficiaries in 75 countries, using contribution amounting to a total of 3.75 billion US Dollars to carry out its operations. However, these figures actually represent a 12 percent drop in funding to WFP posing yet another challenge for us to face. It is therefore timely, that we have started to prepare our next strategic plan, which will be presented to WFP s Executive Board in a year from now, at its annual session in June When addressing the Board at its informal consultation on the mid-term review of our current strategy, the Executive Director remarked on two of the areas for improvement that the review had noted: (i) to identify the required skills and training to make sure our staff is prepared for the future, and (ii) to review the organisational structure of WFP. With regard to the latter, right now WFP is carrying out a Rapid Organisational Assessment, with the help of an external company, McKinsey. The results of the review, together with the work of an internal Organisational Development Team, will feed into the preparation process of the next Strategic Plan, in consultation with the Executive Board. The organisational assessment is complemented by an ongoing workforce profile review that aims to ensure that we have the right mix of skills in the organisation. In her remarks to the Executive Board members Ms. Cousin mentioned the need for WFP: (i) to maximise the use of its resources through improved efficiency; (ii) through prioritisation of our activities and tools to better achieve our core mandate; and (iii) to be more coherent and better aligned within the UN system. This includes the pursuit of ever closer cooperation with the Rome based agencies and it also means to further improve our partnerships with all other stakeholders in the fight against hunger. These coming years will be a challenge for all our organisations as we have to cope with a continuing economic crisis. However, they also present an exciting opportunity to further improve our ability to continue to fight hunger and malnutrition and to combine our efforts in doing so.

5 Page 5 of 12 pages I am happy to see that you, the retired former staff of FAO, IFAD and WFP continue to take such an active interest in these efforts and would like to thank you, once again, for your support and for this opportunity to address you at this meeting. 10. Mr Marcucci expressed the thanks of the Association for this informative speech, with special thanks to WFP for all the assistance they have provided during the year particularly the printing of the Newsbrief and other documents. 11. Address by the Representative of IFAD Mr Michael Gehringer, Interim Head of Corporation Services Department and Director of the Human Resources Division, delivered the following statement for the IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze. Good morning to all of you. It is an honour to speak to you today on behalf of IFAD s President, on the occasion of the general assembly meeting of FFOA. Dr Nwanze is travelling and is unfortunately unable to be here with you this morning but he sends you his best. It is a pleasure for me to introduce myself and interact with colleagues from across the UN system. Although I have only been with IFAD for a relatively short time, I am already well aware of the service, assistance and advice this association provides to our former staff members during their retirement. Since 1971, even before IFAD was created, your association has fostered continued collaboration between members and their organizations, and equally important, among association members themselves. Your commitment to the goals and activities of the United Nations is imperative as ever. This is an exciting time to be working in rural development. Agriculture is a growing area of international cooperation. It has to be: with the world population expected to pass 9 billion by 2050, demand for food is guaranteed to continue rising in the coming years. At the same time, new challenges such as climate change and higher and more volatile food prices are making the livelihoods of poor rural farmers in the developing world more precarious than ever. This is why the roles of the Rome-based food and agriculture agencies are even more important. The technical expertise provided by FAO will enable farmers to take advantage of innovation so that they can grow more food and increase their incomes. WFP s food aid has helped millions of people survive drought, floods and other disasters. And IFAD s support for smallholder farmers is more in demand than ever. Last year, we concluded the Consultation on the Ninth Replenishment of IFAD s Resources. In this period of economic uncertainty, at a time when the global financial crisis is having a major impact on so many national budgets, we are grateful to have the unwavering support of our member states. By agreeing a target of US$1.5 billion in new contributions for the Ninth Replenishment, they have proven to have the perseverance, the determination and the patience to invest in long-term agricultural growth, which is essential to reducing poverty in developing countries. Many of you will recall the years in which agriculture unfortunately seemed to slip off the world s agenda. Aid to agriculture slowed to a trickle. All the more reason that we appreciate the faith that members states have shown in us. Not only did we receive considerable support from our traditional development partners, we also received significant contributions from middle income countries, emerging economies, and from countries that are more often aid recipients than contributors. We are also very encouraged that recent initiatives such as the G8 s New Alliance to increase food security and nutrition, launched a little more than a week ago are committed to including small farmers themselves and their organizations in policy forums and programme implementation. Our message is being heard. The time has come for smallholders to play their rightful role in contributing to economic growth, poverty reduction and food security. We should remember that 2 billion people live and work on the world s small farms. Our job is to advocate for smallholder farmers living in rural areas, and to provide the tools they need to realize their full potential and to better their lives, as well as those of their families and communities. That can mean supporting research into new technologies, or promoting increased microfinance, better infrastructure and market information, and equal access to resources for women. It can mean a lot of things, as you well know. I want to assure you that the work that you began is being carried on. Your continuing contribution to the work of the United Nations Rome-based agencies is essential. As former UN staff members, you all know the challenges that lie ahead. You also know the far-reaching rewards that our assistance can yield. We ask for your continued support and commitment to ensure we achieve these noble aims. On behalf of President Nwanze, I would like to thank you once again for giving me the opportunity to address you here today and to share with you IFAD s focus and future directions. Please feel free to let us know how best we can support you. I wish you a fruitful meeting and continued success in providing such valuable services to our retirees. Thank you.

6 Page 6 of 12 pages 12. Mr Marcucci thanked Mr Gehringer for this informative address. It is important that we all support IFAD in every way possible. FFOA is very grateful for the help provided by IFAD during the year, notably by the dispatch of the General Assembly documents to those members without access to the internet. 13. Statement by the Representative of the Staff Bodies Mr Wolfgang Prante, Chairman of the Association of Professionals in FAO, spoke on behalf of the Staff Representative Bodies. Dear Mr Chair Dear Colleagues, My name is Wolfgang Prante and I am the newly elected President of AP-in-FAO (which, as you probably know, is the result of the merger between the former APS and FSA). It is a great honour and pleasure to address you today on behalf of the Staff Representative Bodies (Professionals and UGSS). For me personally it is also a rather emotional moment because it means meeting many people whom I have not seen for years and whose faces compose the very pleasant picture in my memory from when I joined FAO in 1984 onwards. It is also having a rendezvous with the people whose Association I will join in just over two year's time if everything goes well. Today, I may disappoint a few of you because I am not coming with a well-elaborated and polished speech touching in detail upon matters that concern us all. But let me be honest with you: I was elected President on 7 May and as many of you know the SRBs organized a walk-out on 9 May. In my own language I would call that 'being thrown into cold water' but when I was standing amid the more than 1,000 people calling for collaboration, consultation and participation (not only with respect to redeployment issues) I thought that that metaphor needed to be changed into 'being thrown into rather hot water'. Today, 3 weeks after the event, we have good indications that the redeployment issue that we walked out for are back on track. As I said, I want to be honest with you: since my election to the office, not even a month ago, I have had no time to go into depth in the matters which concern both Associations, most prominently, I would suppose, Pension Benefits and Medical Coverage issues. I apologize for that and would instead like to try and get two messages across to you: Please be aware that your interests and concerns are or will be our interests and concerns and probably vice-versa. We are willing and pleased to continue our collaboration with you and also depend on you to provide us with, as a colleague of ours mentioned a year or so ago, a reality check of what we are discussing or deciding. As a concrete example of our ongoing collaboration let me give you one example and I hope that I am not giving away a secret: For the first time in FFOA history, your elections to the Executive Committee for (to be held later on this year) will be done through an electronic ballot using internet technology. I have collaborated with your colleague Mr Pino Pace in setting up the e-ballot mechanism, and we have successfully tested it. As far as the two of us are concerned, we could go ahead with it tomorrow. This is just an example and I would hope that at your next Assembly we will be able to present more examples of concrete collaboration. Thank you. Mr Marcucci said that FFOA will be glad to reinforce the link. He remarked that what we are now you will soon be. He thanked Mr Prante for his address and also for his personal assistance to developing the FFOA electronic voting system this year. FFOA much appreciated that the staff representative bodies participated in this General Assembly and for their collaboration and work which he felt sure would continue in future. 14. Report of the Executive Committee The statement of work achieved during 2011 had been circulated with the General Assembly documents (FFOA/GA/2012/4). Mr Prien added six recent items to that report. 1. A new member has been co-opted to the Executive Committee, Mr Annibale Fusco Femiano. 2. The medical insurance plans are arranged by the JAC/MC including representatives of FFOA; Vanbreda only does the payments. The JAC/MC is at present updating its terms of reference. 3. Two meetings to explain the medical plans to the FFOA members were arranged, very successfully. 4. The pension COL increase of 3.2 per cent in April will be paid starting in July. 5. This Annual General meeting is being broadcasted on the web. So welcome to everyone watching wherever you may be in the world. 6. Would those people who are not up to date with their subscriptions please pay on their way out. The draft resolution to adopt the report on work achieved (FFOA/GA/2012/06/b) was adopted by acclamation.

7 15. Report of the Association s Financial Transactions (Statements A E) Page 7 of 12 pages Mr Gianni Monciotti, Treasurer of the Association, presented the Financial Report. He asked if all participants had received upon arrival the new set of financial documents substituting for those dispatched by the office in mid-march The latter had a mistake which occurred inadvertently during the processing of the document. This turned out to be of benefit because the revised document also includes the suggestions of the auditors, Messrs John McGhie and Bernd Kaess. He thanked them for their valuable work. He also thanked the sister agencies, WFP and IFAD, for their interest and cooperation, not forgetting mamma FAO for hospitality and assistance in daily activities. As a result of the auditors suggestions, the financial report now includes an extra column showing the situation of the previous year (in this case 2010) allowing a better comparison of figures. Analysis shows that expenditures are quite similar in both years, 2010 and 2011, and demonstrates FFOA s attention to containing costs. The financial status report shows income and investments. The value of the investments decreased somewhat compared with 2010, but already by March 2012, they had gone up again to 33, Some credits may not be recoverable, specifically some loans from the emergency fund to less fortunate members, and the auditors suggest these sums deserve special attention by the Executive Committee. The last item is our liabilities, representing membership subscriptions, paid in advance by life members, which, if our Association were closed down, should eventually be refunded per rata. As mentioned at the beginning our Auditors have certified and formally approved the financial documents. The last document submitted for approval is the provisional budget for 2013 which is similar to the figures of 2011 and 2012, with no notable differences. The treasurer recommended the confirmation of Mr John McGhie and Mr Bernd Käss as Auditors or, following their own suggestion, as Reviewers of our 2012 account. Mr Marcucci thanked the treasurer and invited questions. Mr Javier Perez de Vega said that he thought that the renewal of commitment to the Association by life members has to be encouraged, on a voluntary basis, and asked whether this would be done now. Mr Doeve replied that the subscription for life members was calculated on the basis of an average life expectancy of 15 years which is now probably too low. The suggestion is welcome and will certainly be acted on by the Executive Committee. There were no other questions and the Assembly approved by acclamation the financial report for 2011, the financial status on 31 December 2011, the proposed budget for 2012, and the reappointment of the auditors (now reviewers) for our 2012 accounts, Mr John McGhie and Mr Bernd Käss, under resolutions C, D and E and F of document FFOA/GA/2012/ Presentation by Mr Bernard Cochemé, CEO of the UNJSPF Mr Bernard Cochemé was accompanied by Mr Alimane Bacar Said, Chief of Finance and Client Servicing and Records Management, in the Geneva Office. A summary follows of the main items in the PowerPoint presentation on the screens, which can be seen in its entirety on the web site until the end of this year. Some of it is mentioned in the annual letter from the CEO in Mr Cochemé thanked FFOA for the opportunity to address this Assembly. He would review some of the latest developments and answer any questions. His presentation would be under four headings: operations, investments, payments (pensioners), and statutes, with reference to the 54 th Session of the UN Pension Board. Operations. The UN General Assembly had supported all the Pension Board recommendations and asked for some additional ones for the future. New accounting methods are being introduced from 2012 onwards. It is most satisfactory that the General Assembly was satisfied with the running of the Pension Fund. Investments. The slide shows the value of the investments, with a high in 2008 of $41.4 bn, followed by a decline and then by increases in 2009 and The Fund reached $44 bn in 2011 but ended the year at $39.7 bn in highly volatile markets. Since then there has been a rebound to $43 bn at the end of March and a similar amount at the end of April There have been considerable changes in the investments over the period. A market comparison showed the high volatility over the past five years. Compound rates over 25 years show a return of 7.5 nominal and 4.3 per cent real increase, as compared to the aim of 7.5 per cent nominal and 3.5 per cent real. The returns over time have been affected by the present financial crisis. People. The number of participants has increased to 124,000 paying into the Fund. There was a small decrease in 2011 (some cuts in organizations and also in Afghanistan, and the move from Sudan to Southern Sudan). The number of beneficiaries has risen to 63,300 or 2.4 per cent in the year. The number has grown by 22,000 in 12 years.

8 Page 8 of 12 pages However we have not yet seen the expected large increase. There are thus 186,000 participants and beneficiaries to service. Payments of benefits are distributed as 53 per cent US$; 27 per cent euro; 14 per cent in Swiss francs, making up 94 per cent of the total benefits paid. The balance in the short and long term is important. The increase in payments out (US$2.14bn) was more than payments in during the last three years. The gap was US$20 million in 2009, 50m in 2010, 20m in 2011, but the pension fund is prepared for the gap. Interest on investments is US$461m and from dividends US$675m.The gap is very narrow. The interest and dividends are a stable source of income. US$1.1bn easily funds the gap even if it were to increase to US$300m. There are also profits from sales of securities, for example US$1.76bn, but this is a volatile source. Valuation. The actuarial balance is calculated every two years with a five year rolling balance. There were six years with small surpluses but in December 2009 the deficit was 0.6 per cent. The change was due to changed mortality tables to reflect increased life expectancy making a 2.0 per cent difference so that deficit was really a surplus. There is an expected cost of planned terminations and also the pension adjustments. The situation is also different from most pension funds because the increased benefit in response to an increase in the cost of living index is automatic at 2 percentage points and not discretionary. The deficit in December 2011 is not precisely known at present but is somewhat above 1 per cent. (the five year average includes low years). There is no need for special action on such small deficits. (The final result was 1.8 per cent). Results all depend on the management of risk. There have been fund changes. New standards of accounting have been introduced. The implementation of a new system of fund strategy is expected to be completed in New arrangements are being made for collection of finance from the UN Organizations. The Pension Board (59 th Session) will be held in Paris in July, with more than 40 subjects of discussion. The final figure for the deficit will be announced and discussed there. Mr Marcucci thanked Mr Cochemé for having made time in his busy schedule to come and provide this excellent presentation to the pensioners. He invited questions from the Assembly. Mr Prien expressed appreciation for the devoted service provided by Mr Cochemé to all pensioners and to the UN. He will be missed. He asked about the mortality tables, how they are updated and how often. Mr Cochemé replied that they were updated according to needs. They indicate the expected lengths of life of pensioners at different ages and the increase from the previous estimate, thus: For men: At years 84.4 to 87.4 At years 88.0 to 90.3 At years 89.4 to 90.4 For women: At years 88.0 to 89.1 At years 89.0 to 90.8 At years 91.6 to 92.7 Mr Doeve remarked that this is also a problem for associations with life members. Mr Cochemé has previously told us that nowadays the period of pension exceeds the period of work as a staff member. Mr Cochemé added that the pensioners also remained longer in good health. This is good for them and also a saving for the after-service medical insurance. Mr Eberle said that he had read that in future men are expected to live longer than women; what were the implications of this for the Pension Fund? Mr Cochemé replied that these mortality tables are specific to the UN employees; they are different from developed countries because of staff screening and the health coverage provided. All such changes such as that mentioned, need to be managed. For example if the mandatory age of separation were increased from 62 to 65 there would be a one-off saving of 2 per cent of remunerable compensation for the Fund. This would not apply for new staff members whose pensions would be based on the increased age. Mr Perez da Vega asked how the Fund compared to other comparable funds. Mr Cochemé replied that regular comparisons are made although the UNJSPF is rather unusual. It does better in difficult periods and worse in boom periods. This relates to the essentially cautious investment policy. The UNJSPF is fully funded, which is quite unusual, and does not have to sell investments to fund payments. Volatility is inherent in large-scale investment, so there is no need to take special measures to protect the pensions, as the

9 Page 9 of 12 pages investments will benefit when the market rises again. For example in the last year there were changes of -$10bn, +$6bn, +$4bn, but the Fund relies on long term results. Mr Szynalski asked what would happen if the present crisis causes the euro to collapse long term, with a special thought for the Greeks at present. Mr Cochemé said that the Fund followed a careful strategy, and avoids being exposed to weak currencies. There was no exposure to the poorly performing banks for example, and risks are avoided. If Greece leaves the euro the Greek UN pensioners will be returned to the dollar track and will then be able to choose whether they move into drachmas. As for the weakening dollar, several major currencies have shown decreases against the dollar over the last five years of -4%, -12.8% and -7.3%. Mr Wickens asked whether in case of a wide collapse of the euro all euro pensions would return to the dollar track and Mr Cochemé replied that they would in all countries that reintroduced a different currency. Mr Marcucci thanked Mr Cochemé for these illuminating replies. He remarked that after 12 years he soon would be one of the customers for pensions, and that everyone wished him well in the future. 17. Address by Mr Marco Breschi, Chief of FAO Social Security Mr Breschi said that he regarded it as an honour to be invited to address the Assembly. He had many yesterdays and hoped for more tomorrows. Soon now he would be joining FFOA as a member. He said that Social Security was starting a communications campaign to publicize the support it can offer for serving staff and pensioners. Their offices are in Building D and staff are available to assist with queries about medical insurance, Vanbreda, pensions and some other matters. Social Security has two main segments. There is Policy Development which is not a main concern but emphasises cooperation with other Divisions. Then there is Administration dealing with pensions, compensation, emergency situations, updating status, medical insurance, including Vanbreda, and general insurance. Pensions. Administration of the FAO/WFP Staff Pension Committee is a main activity. The Committee has three main constituents: governments, management and the staff representatives. FFOA is the non-voting representative of the pensioners. Medical. There are 16,000 serving staff and dependents and 8,000 retired staff making a total of 24,000 to be serviced. A great effort has made the medical contracts for staff, especially in Italy, more efficient and less costly. Contracts. Various contracts are involved, and those concerning the Medical Insurance and claims processing have succeeded in reducing the fees. Cost Containment measures such as the in-house pharmacy have been successful. Vanbreda. Cover as much as they can within the budget and contract. Some improvements have been negotiated. Anyone feeling that they have been treated unfairly can be assisted by Social Security. As a result of these efforts there is no change in premiums for Over the past three years there has been an increase in premiums limited to 1.5 per cent. The Communications campaign has begun. For example, at the exit, but also to be sent by mail, there were copies of a list of medicines and treatments which are not accepted for reimbursement by Vanbreda, except in special circumstances. There will also be a pamphlet on how to submit medical claims. GLADI. Social Security also manages the GLADI insurance scheme for those pensioners who have joined it. Mr Marcucci asked if there were any questions. There were none, which reflected the very clear explanations given. Mr Marcucci thanked Mr Breschi and offered the Association s best wishes for his future. He hoped that when he joined FFOA he also would stand for election to the Executive Committee. 18. Other Business No proposals had been received, so Mr Marcucci requested the President of FFOA to make any closing remarks. In his closing remarks, Mr Doeve reassured the participants that they could count on FFOA and that FFOA would continue defending their interests. He then thanked the speakers who have provided a wealth of information which made this General Assembly so worthwhile and the technical staff who had contributed to its success particularly the interpreters and the Webcast technicians. Mr Doeve also thanked Mr Marcucci for chairing the General Assembly so well, and everyone present for coming and for contributing to the meeting. He asked everyone to give generously to the collection for the old and poor at the Old People s Home neighboring FAO which had been made traditional by Ms Eileen Nolan. This year the collection would be made by

10 Page 10 of 12 pages Mrs Gyongyi Prien, Mr John McGhie and helpers at the end of the meeting outside the Plenary Hall. (Contributions amounted to 900, a little more than last year.) Mr. Doeve asked the meeting to observe a minute of silence to commemorate all the staff-members, pensioners, consultants, workers and all those who contributed to the UN activities and had passed away since the last General Assembly. He also asked to include in this minute of silence the victims of the Emilia Romagna earthquakes. Mr Prien mentioned that a UGSS member had requested that members should be reminded that the 1 per cent Fund for Development was also open to pensioners. Mr Marcucci asked the audience to imagine what they would do if they won a prize of 86,400 a day for the rest of their life but they must spend it each day or lose it. Such a winner would spend it all, buying everything imaginable for themselves and for people they know and also many they don t know. The reality is that there are 86,400 seconds in a day. Yesterday is forever gone. So be sure to enjoy every second today. 19. Closure of the Forty-second Session of the General Assembly Mr Anton Doeve, the President of FFOA, closed the Assembly at 12:30 hours. The Forty-third Session of the FFOA General Assembly is expected to take place on Wednesday xxxxxx May 2013 at 09:30 hours at WFP Headquarters Please come along and bring this report with you. ******************************************************************** Selected photos of the 42 nd Session of the FFOA General Assembly, May 2012 by Alex Van Arkadie Messrs A. Prien (Vice-President), A. Doeve (President) and A. Marcucci (Chairman) (from left to right)

11 Page 11 of 12 pages The Audience first row (left to right): Messrs M. Purnell, P. Pace, a FFOA member, and W. Prante (President of the Association of Professionals in FAO) Messrs B. Käss (Reviewer of FFOA s 2012 accounts), B. Szynalski (Vice-President), and Executive Committee members Ms A. Waeschle and Mr J. Wickens (from left to right)

12 Page 12 of 12 pages Mr Alimane Said (UNJSPF/Geneva), Ms A. Pompei (FFOA member), Mr Abdou Ciss (FFOA member), and Mr S. Salvi (Executive Committee member) Messrs G. Eberle (General Secretary), G. Monciotti (Treasurer), A. Prien (Vice-President), A. Doeve (President), M. Gehringer (Director of the Human Resources Division, IFAD)