WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/GC/W/637 
28 September 2011 
 (11-4704) 
General Council 
26-27 October 2011  
 
 
 
WTO PENSION PLAN  
 
Amendment of Article 30 of the Regulations of the WTO Pension Plan 
  
1. Article 30 of the Regulations of the WTO Pe nsion Plan (WTOPP) provides for the payment 
of a benefit in respect of the child of a beneficiary or former beneficiary, subject to certain conditions.  The basic amount of that benefit is aligned with  the amount of the child allowance payable to a 
serving staff member under Staff Rule 106.14 and Annex 2(b) (i) of the Staff Rules. 
2. Whereas the Staff Rules provide for the non-concu rrence of allowances and stipulate that "the 
allowance shall be reduced by the amount of any allowance received from any public authority by the 
staff member or spouse in respect of the same child
1", a similar provision does not exist in the 
WTOPP Regulations. 
3. The Management Board has noted that non-conc urrence of allowances is provided for not 
only in the Staff Rules but also in the regulatio ns of pension plans of other intergovernmental 
organizations.  The Management Board is, therefore,  of the view that a similar provision should be 
incorporated in the WTOPP Regulations. 
4. Pursuant to Article 43 of the WTOPP Regula tions, the Management Board recommends that 
the General Council approve the amendment to Arti cle 30 of the WTOPP Regulations set out in the 
attachment. 
 
 
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1 Staff Rule 106.14(b) WT/GC/W/637 
Page 2  
 
   
Amendment of Article 30 of the Plan Regulations 
  Article 30 
Child's benefit  
 
(a) A child's benefit shall, subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) below, be payable to each child of a 
participant who is entitled to a retirement, early  retirement or disability benefit or who has 
died in service, while the child remain s unmarried and under the age of 21. 
 
(b) A benefit shall be payable to a child who is over the age of 21 if the child is found by the 
Management Board to have been incapacitate d by illness or injury for substantial gainful 
employment: 
 
(i) on reaching the age of 21, if immediately prior thereto a child's benefit was payable, 
or 
  (ii) at the time of death in service or en titlement to a benefit of the participant. 
  A benefit payable as above shall continue for as long as the child remains incapacitated. 
 
(c) A benefit shall, notwithsta nding paragraphs (a) and (b) above , not become payable, if the 
participant has chosen an early retirement be nefit, until the participant dies or reaches the 
normal retirement age, except to a child under th e age of 21, found by the Management Board 
to be disabled. 
 
(d) Subject to paragraphs (e) and (f) below, the be nefit shall be payable during the continuance of 
any periodic benefit resulting from retirement, ear ly retirement or disability, or, in the event 
of death of the participant, at the annual rate of one third of the bene fit which was or would 
have been payable to the participant, subject to a minimum of the amount corresponding to one half of that specified in Annex 2(b)(i) of the Staff Rules  and a maximum of the amount 
corresponding to that specified in Annex 2(b)(i) of the Staff Rules , expressed in Swiss francs 
per annum.  
 (e) If no other periodic benefit is payable and there is no surviving parent able, in the opinion of 
the Management Board, to support the child or if the other periodic benefit payable is to a 
surviving spouse who is not a natural or adoptive parent and does not have custody of the 
child, and subject to paragraph (f) below, the bene fit shall be payable at the rate in paragraph 
(d) above, increased by: 
  (i) 25 per cent of the retirement, early retir ement or disability benefit from which it is 
derived, if one child's benefit is payable, and 
 
 (ii) 50 per cent of the retirement, early re tirement or disability benefit from which it is 
derived, and divided by the number of eligible  children, if more than one such benefit 
is payable. 
 
(f) The total benefits payable under paragraphs (d ) and (e) above, added to any retirement, early 
retirement, disability or surviving spouse's benef it shall not exceed the FAR of the participant 
at the time of separation from service. 
  WT/GC/W/637 
 Page 3 
 
 
  (g) Benefits payable under this Article shall be  recalculated as may be required to achieve the 
purposes of paragraphs (e) and (f) above.  
 
(h) The benefit shall be reduced by the amount of any benefit received from any public 
authority by the beneficiary in respect of the same child.  In no case shall the sum of the 
two payments be less than the rate set out in Annex 2 of the Staff Rules. 
 
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