affectparticipants appointed directly toUnder-Secretary-General orAssistant Secretary-General-level posts,afteracareeroutside theUnitedNations system; theonestobeaffected wouldbelong-service international civilservants. The breakdown byyearsofcontributory service ofthe153participants intheFundwith therankofUnder-Secretary-General, Assistant Secretary-General ortheir eauivalent asat31December 1984wasasfollows:47.Whereas a0-2,topstep,participant wouldneed35yearsofcontributory service tobecomeentitled tothemaximum benefit ($64,288 or$60,060 asthecase maybe),aparticipant whoretiredatthelevelofUnder-Secretary-General or Assistant Secretary-General '~ouldbecomeentitled toabenefit of$64,288 (or$60,060) withinashortez periodoftime.Thenumberofyearsofcontributory service required toreachthatentitlement isshowninthefollowing table:49.Afurther pointtobeborneinmindwasthattheimposition ofaceiling as defined inparagraph 47abovetoparticipants already servingatthelevelof Under-Secretary-General, Assistant Secret~ry-General ortheirequivalent, wouldbe tantamount tomakingnon-pensionable theyearsoftheirfutureservice inexcessof thoseneededtoreachtheceilingJ thatwouldbeamaterial changeintheir conditions ofemployment, andwouldthusbeofdoubtful legality. 50.Onthebasisofitsfurther analysis oftheGeneral Assembly's request, the Boardconcluded thatitwouldnotbedesirable toimposeaceiling onthehighest levelsofpensions. Suchaceiling wouldbeinconsistent withtheprinciple that theRegulations oftheFundshouldbeapplied uniformlYJ fur_hermore, aswas already recalled inparagraph 44above,itwouldhavenoimpactontheactuarial imbalance. 51.Atthesametime,theviewwasalsoexpressed thatthefactthattheGeneral Assembly hadtwicerequested theBoardto.submitrecommendations regarding the imposition ofaceiling onthehighest levelsofpension.indicated thattherewere strongly heldviewsintheAssembly infavourofsuchaceiling forreasons that werenotwithinthecompetence ofatechnical bodysuchasthePension Board. A response totherequest wouldhavetobesuchastoavoidtheproblem identified in paragraph 49aboveJitalsoappeared undesirable tolinkthebenefit entitlement of aparticipant atagivenleveltotheentitlement ofanotherofficial atalower levelofresponsibility. Thosetwoconcerns wouldbemetiftheceiling was expressed intermsofamaximum accumulation lowerthanthemaximain article 28(b)and(c)oftheRegulations, andifitapplied onlytoparticipants whowerenot-already-serving atthelevelofUnder-Secretary-General, Assistant Secretary-General ortheirequivalent. TheBoardconcluded thatamaximum accumulation of60pereentoffinalaverage remuneration wouldbereasonableJ at present maximum accumulation equals 65percentforthosewhobecameparticipants intheFundbefore 1January 1983,and66.25percentforallotherparticipants. Thatresultwouldbeachieved ifanewparagraph wasinserted inarticle 28,after paragraph (£),toreadasfollows: "Notwithstanding theprovisions of(b)and(c)above,andexceptfora participant atthelevelofAssistant Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General ortheirequivalent levelpriorto1January 1986,the benefit payableatthestandard annualrateto·aparticipant atanyoneof thoselevelsshallnotexceed 60per~entofthefinalaverage remuneration at thedateofseparation, calculated forthatlevelinaccordance with article 1(!l)(1)or(11)." 52.TheBoarddecided torecommend totheGeneral Assembly, that s~ouldit disagree withtheBoard's conclusion inparagraph 50above,theimposition ofa ceiling onthehighest levelsofpension beeffected byamending article 28inthe mannerindicated inparagraph 51above.. Eightmembers oftheBOarddisagreed with thisrecommendation. 53.Asforlimiting theamountthatmaybepaidtoaparticipant bywayof lump-sum commutation ofpartofhisperiodic benefit, theBOardrecalled thatthe Fundderived abenefit fromtheexistence ofthecommutation provis~on inthe Regulations. Theconsulting actuary hadinformed theBoardthatifthecommutation provision wereeliminated, theactuarial imbalance wouldincrease by1.33percent oftotalpensionable remuneration basedonthe31December 1984actuarial valuation. TheRegulations already imposed alimitontheproportion ofthe periodic benefit thatcouldbecommuted byspecifying thatnormally onecould -16-comm amou tot of1 $125 the remu maxi abov ofp Pens 54. the loca "loc a11 doll bene 55. Asse re-e wher yiel amou Hmi 56. that basi tot The purc was