Dear Members,
FFOA has received the following information regarding the 2012 Certificate of Entitlement. As FFOA has received many calls about this from its Members, the following explanation should make the situation clear.
With kind regards,
Deborah Ryan
FFOA Office Assistant
This is to update you in respect to the status of the 2012 Certificate of Entitlement (CE) process.
The 2012 CEs were dispatched by the Fund on 25 October 2012 to the United States Postal Services (USPS), as well as to the United Nations Mailing Operations for onward transmission. In fact, nearly 53,000 CEs were prepared and distributed this year to the respective retirees and other beneficiaries of the Fund. Unfortunately, due to the major storm (Hurricane Sandy) that hit the northeastern region of the United States, USPS as well as the UN mailing facilities and equipment have suffered physical damage and power outages. These problems have in turn been causing considerable delays in the final transmission of the Fund's 2012 CEs. Needless to say, all offices impacted by this storm have been working hard to get everything up and running again.
Concerning the direct impact this has had on the Fund, some 12,000 CEs had to be re-printed, registered and tagged again for tracking, as a result of the damages incurred by the serious flooding experienced in the Pouch Unit of the United Nations Secretariat Building. Although the Fund was advised by the UN mail unit of the overall delays, it was not aware of the damage to the CEs and the need for re-printing until last Wednesday (21 November). The damaged CEs were subsequently re-printed over the weekend and have been dispatched again on 26 November to the United Nations Pouch Unit for final transmission to the individuals concerned. The CEs that were damaged were those that are sent through the United Nations Pouch Unit, including all those intended for distribution in Switzerland and Italy, as well as smaller numbers in most of the some 190 countries in which CEs are distributed each year. Fortunately, all other CEs that were not sent through the pouch should have reached their respective retirees by now, or should be arriving shortly.
While a news alert of the delay had been posted under the "Beneficiaries" portal of the Fund's website, the Fund recognizes that not all retirees and other beneficiaries regularly visit the Fund's website, and therefore they may be unaware of the reason for the delays being encountered. It was also brought to our attention that the French version of the website did not reflect the latest news alert; however, this has now been updated, accordingly.
As can be expected, the Fund has been receiving inquiries concerning the delays. It also recognizes that many such inquiries are also being made directly to FAFICS or to the respective AFICS offices and/or to the Staff Pension Committee (SPC) Secretariats of the former employing organizations. The purpose of this email is therefore to also fully update you, so that all the offices involved may be in position to reply to all such potential, and likely, inquiries.
In addition, and fully recognizing the delay this has caused in the transmission of the affected CEs, the Fund will, of course, extend the normal deadlines allowed for the return of the CEs, accordingly. There should therefore be no adverse effect on the retirees and other beneficiaries, other than the concerns some of them may have had as a result of this unfortunate delay. As usual, the Fund would stress that it always makes every effort to avoid suspending any ones pension benefit. The second mailing will, of course, be carried out as well, but this should take place about a month later than normal for obvious reasons. Following the second mailing, and again as usual, the Fund will follow up with your offices in respect to those CEs not yet in receipt.
Finally, and in the meantime, we regret any inconvenience this delay may cause you and your colleagues, and especially any concerns that it may have caused to the retirees residing in your regions.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
With best regards.
Frank DeTurris
Chief of Operations
United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
tel: 1- (212) 963-8022
e-mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
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