mainly because the member organizations required people with experience and therefore recruited most staff members at about age 40. Having made such a choice because of their own requirements, the organizations must take the consequences, i.e. they must ensure that staff members retiring after 20 years' service had adequate pensions. To make the point that surely an individual had acquired vested rights to other pension benefits by the age of 40 was irrelevant because the amount of any pension earned 20 years before retirement would be very minute by the time the staff member reached age 60. Tb all intents and purposes, many staff members had on~y their United Nations pensions to live on after retirement. 25. With regard to the suggestion that the first instalment of the increase in the rate of contribution should be postponed until the following year, he pointed out that the actuarial imbalance at the end of 1982 had been more than 8 per cent. The Pension Board had come forward with proposals which had reduced that imbalance to about 4.8 per cent. The Board was now proposing that the rate of contribution should be increased by 3 per cent by 1990. At no time, however, had the Board made any proposal that would completely wipe out the deficit. Moreover, the factor of increased longevity had not been taken into account. If it was to be taken into account, the imbalance would be 5.7 per cent. Thus, the Board's proposals would still leave an imbalance which would have to be covered through further economy measures in the years ahead. 26. With regard to the various economy measures proposed, the Pension Board stood ready to consider each and every one of them and would seek the views of the Committee of Actuaries in that connection. However, given the size of the deficit, 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the financial situation of the United Nations and its pension plan, including the actuarial imbalance and the need for economy measures to address it. The language and context suggest that the topic is related to the management of the organization's resources and staff benefits, rather than a specific sector or industry.

**Category**
Employment, Health