In accordance with the UNJSPF Pension adjustment system and based on CPI (consumer price index) data from the Monthly Bulletin of Statistics (MBS) published by the UN Statistics Division, there will be a 6.4 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the US dollar track of periodic benefits for this year, effective 1 April 2023.

Please note that the CPI increase calculated from the MBS differs from the CPI increase published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of 6.5 percent. This discrepancy of 0.1 percent was due to a rounding issue since the CPI data in the MBS retains one decimal place while the CPI data from the US BLS carries three decimal places. However, the Fund is bound by its adjustment system to use the MBS CPI data. In the April 2018 COLA update, there was an opposite rounding discrepancy. At that time, the Fund applied a 2.2 percent increase based on the MBS, whereas the US BLS published a 2.1 percent increase. The Fund has consistently applied CPI data from the MBS as its source data, so rounding discrepancies may occur from time to time.

More on Cost-of-Living Adjustment

The applicable COLA adjustments for all countries of residence will be applied effective 01 April 2023. Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) letters with these details will be issued by the end of April 2023. All beneficiaries who registered for access to their UNJSPF Member Self-Service (MSS) account will be able to access their COLA letter in MSS under the DOCUMENTS tab. Your initial benefit is adjusted over time for movements of the consumer price index in the United States if you are on the dollar track. If you have opted for the two-track system, your pension amount will be adjusted also taking into account the movements of the CPI of your country of residence. For more information about the two-track system, click here.

How often is my benefit adjusted for the cost of living?

Normally, benefits are adjusted for the cost of living once a year, provided that the CPI has moved by at least 2 per cent since the date of the last adjustment. Such adjustments are normally undertaken in April of the following year. However, in high-inflation situations, i.e. where the consumer price index has moved by 10 per cent or more since the date of the last adjustment, benefits are adjusted semi-annually, on 1 April and 1 October.

For more information on cost-of-living adjustment, please click here.