VOL. 66, NO. 5 - aafi-afics - UNOG

What you will get for your moneyThe general rule is that you must have contributed to the scheme for at least one year to be entitled to anold-age pension and that you must have reached age 64 (women) and 65 (men), regardless of whether youare a citizen of a country with which Switzerland has concluded a bilateral social security convention.Married women are entitled to an old-age pension based on their own acquired rights. The AVS pension isindependent of the UN pension, but if the latter is very small and in case of the need for long-term care, theAVS contributor can apply for a complementary pension to the Cantonal Office for the Aged (Office cantonaldes personnes âgées (OCPA). Contributors may be entitled to an invalidity pension until they reachretirement age. The same principle applies to widows.Foreigners who were residents of Switzerland and are citizens of one of the 28 countries with whichSwitzerland has concluded social security conventions and who leave Switzerland after having reached ages64 (women and 65 (men) may receive their entitlements abroad. The 28 countries involved are the followingStates Members of the European Union: States Members of EFTA; Canada/Quebec; Chile; Croatia; Israel;Macedonia; Philippines; San Marino; Turkey; United States of America; Yugoslavia (all citizens of formerYugoslavia).Contributors are protected under the rules of the invalidity insurance (AI) subject to the same conditions ofduration of contribution as for the AVS pensions until they reach the qualifying age for old-age pensions. Theprincipal qualification is permanent or long-term disability.Pensions are calculated individually. Their amounts are a function of (a) the number of years of contribution(including any years before and after employment with an international organization during whichcontributions were paid); and (b) the level of revenue on which contributions were based.When should you submit your application?You should apply for your old-age pension about 4-5 months before reaching your qualifying age. To thatend you should use a form available from the Caisse cantonale de compensation of your Canton ofresidence. The pension is only paid upon application.Klaus NetterPROGRESS AT THE MILLENIUM MIDPOINTDue to a technical error, for which we apologise, a curtailed version of this article was published inthe September Bulletin. The complete text is given below.The UN is appealing to governments, specialized agencies and the international community at large tointensify their efforts to reach the Millenium Development Goals by the target date of 2015. At mid-course tothe deadline fixed by the UN, some twenty UN agencies are underlining the need that extra efforts must bemade since the results so far are “uneven”.In his Foreword to the report, Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, states that there is a clear need for thepolitical leaders to take urgent and concerted action or millions of people will never benefit from the mostelementary promises of the Millenium Goals40