WT/GC/W/ 725 
24 November 201 6 
(16-6365) Page: 1/6 
General Council  
7 and 8 December  2016  
 
  AMEND MENT S TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES OF THE WTO PENSION PLAN AND OF 
RULES OF PROCEDURE  OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD  
 
1. The WTO Pension Plan is governed by the Regulations, Administrative Rules and Rules of 
Procedure of the Management Board  that were adopted by the General Council on 16 October 
1998 and subsequently amended on 7 November 2005, 28 July 2009 and 26 October 2011.   
2. In 2015 t he Regulations were revised, subsequently endorsed by the CBFA , and adopted by 
the General Council on 30 November 2015. Followin g the adoption of the amended Regulations, 
the Management Board of the WTO Pension Plan (WTOPP) proceed ed to address the necessary 
amendments to the Plan's Administrative Rules and Rules of Procedure.  
3. At its 112th meeting held on 30 September 2016, the Management Board  of the WTOPP (the 
Management Board) decided to approve the following amendments  and submit the revised 
Administrative Rules and Rules of Procedure to the General Council for final approval.  Amendments 
fall into two categories: substantive an d technical.  
4. Substantive changes are proposed in Sections C and H of the Administrative Rules and 
Section D of the Rules of Procedure. These changes address the medical examination of new Plan 
participants by clarifying and codifying the current practice o f the WTO Occupational Health 
Service in this regard  (Section C) . The changes also enhance the governance of incapacity  review 
processes and  clarify the respective roles of the WTO medical adviser and a separate WTOPP 
medical adviser  (Section H  and Section  D). 
5. Technical  corrections are proposed across several Sections of the Administrative Rules to 
address technical and typographical errors.   
6. The Management Board recommends that the General Council approve amendments to 
Plan's Administrative  Rules  and to Ru les of procedure  of the Management Board .  
7. The corresponding amendments are set out in Annex 1 and Annex  2, in bold  and/or 
underlined where text has been added and between brackets in double strikethrough where text 
has been deleted.  
8. This proposed revision to the Administrative Rules and Rules of procedure is submitted to 
the General Council for approval pursuant to Article  5(b) and 5(c)  of the Plan Regulations.  
 
 
_______________  
 
 WT/GC/W/725   
 
- 2 - 
 
  ANNEX 1  
 
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES  OF THE WTO PENSIO N PLAN  
SECTION A  
Secretary  
 
Pursuant to Article 6 of the Regulations , the Secretary shall be responsible, under the authority of 
the Management Board, for ensuring the observance of the Regulations  and these Rules  by the 
WTO,[and] the participants and the beneficiaries . 
 
 
_______________  
 
 
SECTION B  
Participation  
 
 
B.2 The information shall normally include the name of the participant and the date of 
commencement of participation, date of birth, sex and marital status, and, as the case may 
be, the names and  dates of birth of the spouse, children under the age of 21, and secondary 
dependant [s].  
 
 
_______________  
 
 
SECTION C  
Medical Examination  
 
 
C.1 In accordance with Article 36 of the Regulations and Staff Rule 104.4 , a medical 
examination of each participa nt shall be carried out by the medical adviser of the WTO, or a 
medical practitioner designated by the medical adviser of the WTO , prior to or as early as 
may be practicable after the commencement of participation . 
 
 
C.2 The examination shall be conducted in such a manner as to determine whether or not the 
participant [meets the medical standards , and ] is considered fit for employment at the 
WTO, including with a view to his/her  participation in the Pension Plan. A separate 
examination  may be waived if the p articipant has undergone a medical examination within 
twelve months prior to the commencement of participation if the results of that examination 
are acceptable to the medical adviser of the WTO after having personally interviewed 
the participant . 
 
C.3 The medical adviser of the WTO shall retain evidence of medical clearance for each 
new participant and communicate explicitly to the WTO that the individual has 
been cleared for participation in the Pension Plan.  The WTO will inform the 
Secretary of the Plan  that a participant is admitted in the Plan only after the 
medical clearance has been received.  
 
 
 
_______________  
 
 
 WT/GC/W/725   
 
- 3 - 
 
   
SECTION H  
Determinations of Incapacity and Inability to Engage in Gainful Employment  
 
 
 
General  
 
H.1   (a) The determination of incapacit y for the purpose of disability benefits under Article 28 
of the Regulations  and of children's and secondary dependant [s]'s benefits under 
Article 30(b) and 31(a), respectively, shall be made in each case by the Management 
Board.  
[…] 
 
H.2 In each case in w hich the Management Board has determined that a participant or a 
child is incapacitated, the medical adviser of the WTO  shall[transmit a report on the 
medical aspects of the case to the Secretary ] retain on behalf of the Plan copies 
of relevant reports and  files related to the medical aspects of the case so as 
to ensure appropriate documentation for these determinations.  These 
reports and files shall be made available to the medical adviser of the Plan 
for review and consultation . 
 
[…] 
 
H.4   (b)     Whene ver a participant alleges incapacity within the meaning of [a]Articles 28(a) or 
28(d) of the Regulations . 
[…] 
 
H.5   (c)  […]  
 
 (ii) that, after consultation with the medical adviser of the WTO , it has been determined 
that it is not possible to assign the  participant to other duties reasonably compatible 
with his/her abilities, whether on a full -time or part -time basis ; 
[…]  
 
(d) In further application of Rule H.5(b), above, the medical adviser of the WTO  shall in 
each case certify the following:  
 
 (i) that the participant has an incapacity which prevents him/her from carrying out duties 
reasonably compatible with his/her abilities, with specific reference to the participant's 
current duties and accompanied by the necessary supporting evidence from the 
participant's medical practitioner or practitioners and/or independent medical 
experts ; 
 […] 
The medical adviser [shall] of the WTO shall be available to  present each case in 
person to the Management Board in order to explain the details of the case and 
respond  to questions , if requested by the Management Board . 
 
(e) The WTO [,] or the participant  [if the request has been submitted by the participant .] 
may be required by the Management Board to provide further evidence or information 
thereon prior to a determinat ion being made.  
 
(f) Except where deemed unnecessary or inappropriate, [the Secretary shall, for the 
purposes of the determination by the Management Board, obtain a further, 
independent medical report from a recognized medical expert other than the medical 
adviser and the participant's medical practitioner(s) ] the medical adviser of the 
Plan shall review any supporting documentation, and the relevant medical 
reports and files held by the medical adviser of the WTO for the purposes of 
assisting  the Management  Board in making a determination. The medical 
adviser of the Plan may obtain a further, independent medical report from a 
recognized medical expert other than the medical adviser of the WTO and the WT/GC/W/725   
 
- 4 - 
 
  participant's medical practitioner(s) and/or examine the p articipant if 
deemed necessary . 
 
H.6   (a) A determination of incapacity within the meaning of Articles  28(a) or 28(d) shall [, 
until the beneficiary reaches age fifty -five,] be reviewed by the Management Board 
from time to time for the purpose of establis hing the continued eligibility or otherwise 
of the beneficiary for a disability benefit. No further review shall be carried out 
after the age when the beneficiary would be entitled to early retirement as 
per the provisions of Article 24.  
 
(b) The date for each such review shall be set by the Management Board, having regard 
to the opinion of the medical adviser of the Plan  on the prospects for the 
beneficiary's recovery, and in such manner that the interval between reviews does not 
normally exceed three year s; the Management Board may nevertheless review a 
determination at an earlier date than that set if there is reason to believe that the 
beneficiary is no longer incapacitated.  
 
(c) The beneficiary shall be informed in writing by the Secretary of the date o r interval set 
for the review in each case and shall, as and when required, submit to a medical 
examination by the medical adviser of the Plan , or a medical practitioner designated 
by the medical adviser of the Plan , for the purpose of providing evidence e nabling 
the Management Board to determine whether or not the beneficiary continues to be 
incapacitated.  
[…] 
 
 
_______________  
 
 
 
SECTION J  
Computation and Payment of Benefits  
 
[…] 
J.2   (d)   Benefits payable under the Regulations  to the children of a bene ficiary shall, unless 
there are exceptional circumstances, be paid on their behalf to the beneficiary and, 
upon his or her  death , to the surviving parent or legal guardian of each child, in 
accordance, mutatis mutandis , with paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).  
 
[…] 
J.7 The age of a participant shall be calculated in years and fractions of years from the 
date of birth to the date of separation, in accordance with the method prescribed for 
the calculation of contributory service in Rule J.4 above; a participant shal l 
nevertheless not be considered to have reached age fifty -five, age fifty -seven, age 
sixty, [or]age sixty -two or age sixty -five until the fifty -fifth, fifty -seventh, sixtieth , 
sixty-second or sixty -fifth birthday, as the case may be, shall have elapsed.  
 
[…] 
 
 
_______________  
 
 
SECTION K  
Review and Appeal  
 
[…] 
 
Procedure for review  
 
K.7    (b)    The medical board shall consist of a medical practitioner selected by the participant or 
person requesting the review, the medical adviser of the  [WTO]Plan or a m edical WT/GC/W/725   
 
- 5 - 
 
  practitioner designated by the medical adviser of the Plan , and a third medical 
practitioner selected in agreement by the former two. The medical board shall 
undertake such further examination of the medical conclusions at issue, and/or of the 
perso n who is the subject of the review, as it considers desirable, and shall report its 
conclusions in writing to the Management Board which shall thereupon proceed with 
the review.  
 
[…] 
 
 
_______________  
 WT/GC/W/725   
 
- 6 - 
 
  ANNEX 2  
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO RULES OF PROCEDURE O F THE MANAGEMENT BOARD  OF 
THE WTO PENSION PLAN  
 
SECTION A  
MANAGEMENT BOARD  
 
SECTION D  
THE MEDICAL ADVISER OF THE PLAN  
 
D.1 The Management Board shall appoint  [a]an independent  Medical Adviser for the Plan  
who shall assist the Management Board as necessary  in all medical questions.  
 
[D.2 The Medical Adviser shall prepare an annual report on the application of the medical 
standards prescribed by the Management Board under Article 37 of the Regulations and on 
medical information affecting the granting of benefit s from the Plan .] 
 
 
__________