For any matters relating to health insurance and ASHI, please rely on the official sources of information through the United Nations Health and Life Insurance Section, (HLIS) website. Retirees | Health & Life Insurance Section and not on other sources.

This message is sent on behalf of the Co-Chairs of the AFICS/NY Communications Committee. Dear AFICS/NY Members worldwide, We are pleased to announce that the AFICS/NY Communications Committee is launching its call for contributions to the Winter 2026/27 Bulletin. We are writing to request your contributions of brief stories, achievements, and news in your lives that you feel will be of interest to your fellow members. In addition to updating you on how AFICS/NY is wor

Message from FAFICS President Darshak Shah, 7 October 2026 Dear colleagues, First of all, I wish to thank all of you who have provided valuable comments and suggestions on how to make our future Council sessions more focused, engaging and productive. As I have mentioned in my previous communication about this, I have asked Vice President Clemens Adams supported by Secretary Delia Barcelona, to lead the Working Group to design and prepare for the next Council. The idea f

The message below is sent on behalf of Clemens Adams, FAFICS Vice President, and WG Chair for FAFICS 57 preparations Dear Colleagues, Hope all is well. We are writing to follow up on the letter from President Darshak Shah about this subject, sent on 31 August 2026, in three languages (links below.) In that letter, we were asking for your feedback on past Councils and suggestions for the next one. Attached once again is the brief google survey form you can use to send us your

This message being is sent on behalf of President Emeritus Jerry Barton, the Presiding Officer of the 56th Council, Jacques Rao, and President Darshak Shak We are pleased to share with you the report of the 56th Council Session of FAFICS, held from 19-24 July 2026 in Vienna. Attached is the full report in English and the Executive Summary in English, French and Spanish. Once the full report is also translated, we will post it on the FAFICS website. The report has been final

The message below is from the Department of Operational Support, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 8 September 2026 Time is running out to register for Term 4 language and communication courses! Secure your spot by Monday, 14 September. Offered to all eligible participants from 28 September to 11 December 2026, courses include online, in-person, and hybrid learning opportunities tailored to various skills and topics. If you are seeing a “waitlisted” status on your enrol

Dear colleagues and friends, Since the changes to the UN Headquarters-administered health insurance plans took effect on 1 July 2026, many of your members have written to your Association and/or to me directly. Your concerns are legitimate, and I want to address them directly, and to tell you plainly what FAFICS is doing about them. What changed. The changes are described in two UN Information Circulars — ST/IC/2026/2 and ST/IC/2026/3 — an increase in premiums across every UN

Dear Colleagues, Six weeks ago, we successfully concluded the 56th FAFICS Council session. Thanks to your active participation, the meeting yielded productive discussions and important decisions that will help guide the Federation's work. We are now beginning preparations for the 57th FAFICS Council Session, tentatively scheduled to take place in Geneva from 19 to 23 July 2027, the week before the meeting of United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) Board. The decision

Dear Member Associations and colleagues, I would like to thank you all for making the 56th Session of the FAFICS Council such a success. Once again, the Council demonstrated the strength of our Federation through constructive dialogue, thoughtful decision-making, and our shared commitment to protecting the interests of retired staff, surviving spouses, and other beneficiaries. It was an excellent meeting in which we addressed the critical issues facing FAFICS, regarding pensi

As is customary, please note that AFICS/NY office will be closed for business from: Monday, 17 August to Labor Day, Monday, 7 September 2026, and will re-open for business on Tuesday, 8 September 2026.

The UN is currently seeking volunteers with language skills at or near UN Level I and II of the UN Language Framework to participate in an important UN educational project. Your participation will also provide you with a valuable opportunity to assess your language skills at this level. The project The UN is currently developing an innovative Computer Adaptive Language Test for all UN personnel to help them assess their language proficiency levels. To ensure the quality and r

This communication, from the United Nations Health and Life Insurance Section, (HLIS) provides important information regarding changes in the benefit provisions, monthly premiums, and after-service health insurance (ASHI) contribution amounts that came into effect on 1 July 2026. In addition, a statement is being sent to your home address with your ASHI contribution amount effective 1 July 2026 Health Insurance Premium Increases effective 1 July 2026 All premiums for UNHQ adm

Darshak Shah, President of AFICS New York, elected as President of FAFICS at the 56th Annual Council. The FAFICS 56th Council Session has elected a new President... Darshak Shah, current President of AFICS NY. Darshak will be taking over the responsibility from Jerry Barton (current Pres of ARICSA Vienna). Three new VPs were also elected, Nancy Hurtz-Soyka (AFICS NY) Maria Machicado (AFICS Bolivia) and Aye Win (AFICS Myanmar). The meeting also elected a new Treasurer, Peter

A debate entitled “UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General” will take place on Thursday, 23 July 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall, with candidates for the position of Secretary-General. UN staff members are invited to participate in this town hall, which marks an important milestone in the selection and appointment process of the next Secretary-General. This town hall will provide a unique opportunity to hear directly from the candidates as t

The AFICS/NY editorial team is delighted to annouce the publication of the latest bulletin, volume 55 number 2. The theme of this edition is volunteerism. You can view and download the full bulletin here.

The United Nations Health and Life Insurance Section, (HLIS) just announced three important updates. Follow the links below for more information. Anthem have issued new insurance ID cards effective July 1st: Updated Anthem Insurance ID Cards; Important information for Anthem PPO members | Health & Life Insurance Section HLIS published the new ASHI rates in the Retiree toolkit: ashi_summary_26_06_2026_08_31_55.pdf A new ST/IC/2026/2 was published. This ST/IC needed a reissuan

Join us on Thursday, June 25, from 2-4 PM for a leisurely stroll along the recently completed East River Greenway, with long-time Big Apple Greeter, Bob Ross, who will share a lot of history and folklore about the sights on both shores, in Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, and in Queens. You will learn a lot, enjoy the good weather (we hope!), take some great pictures and enjoy each others' company. The walk will start at 60th Street (meeting place will be shared with registran

Dr. Sudershan Narula, Co-Chair of the nominating committee announced the results of the 2026 AFICS/NY Governing Board elections at the Annual Assembly on 29 May 2026. The eleven candidates who were voted onto the Governing Board, in alphabetical order were: 1. ALIPUI, Nicholas (incumbent) 2. BHATIA, Renu 3. DELLA ROCCA, Robin (incumbent) 4. FUENTES CONTE, Pilar (incumbent) 5. KASPER, Ingrid 6. LEGASPI, Maria Aurita (Marita) 7. PAWLIK, Regina 8. POZENEL, Jay (incumbent) 9. ROT

Click here to play a video recording of the assembly. Play Video On Friday 29 May 2026 the Association of Former International Civil Servants, New York, (AFICS/NY) held its annual assembly from 3pm to 6pm in conference room 1 at UN Headquarters. Follow the link below to find copies of the presentations. Presentations and statements. Gallery of photos Please send us any feedback or comments you may have.

On 21 May 2026, AFICS New York and the United Nations Health and Life Insurance Section held a webinar about the United Nations Headquarters administered health insurance plans for the year starting on 1 July 2026. Here is a link to the recording of the whole webinar. And here is a link to a pdf of the presentation.