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Kofi Annan's Retirement: Double Dipping From U.N.? Stewart Stogel UNITED NATIONS -- United Nations sources confirm with NewsMax that retiring Secretary-General Kofi Annan plans to "petition" the organization's pension fund for the largest retirement benefit package in the 60-year history of the U.N.
Annan is reportedly seeking yearly payments in excess of $250,000 for life and intends to file a claim for an additional $1 million for back payments related to earlier duties at the U.N. when he served as assistant secretary-general and, later, as under secretary-general. The latest $1 million request is in addition to the $1 million lump sum Annan already received on that same pension.
The Annan payout is the largest on record at the United Nations.
For perspective, past U.S. presidents receive a pension totaling roughly $200,000 per year.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations had no immediate comment on Annan's proposed payout.
Unlike his secretary-general predecessors, Annan served more than four decades as a U.N. employee and rose to become the first staffer to be elected as U.N. chief. Previous secretaries-general received a lifetime annual pension of $100,000.
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But the General Assembly recently and quietly passed legislation "enhancing" Annan's retirement benefits. Some U.N. insiders speculate that the "enhancement" was a so-called "parting gift" for Annan after a decade as leader.
While not illegal, many U.N. staffers expressed anger at Annan's behind-the-scenes move to sweeten his golden parachute, saying it smacks of "double dipping" from the U.N. funds.
"I must say, I really resent it," exclaimed one veteran U.N. employee who requested confidentiality.
In fact, a brief, informal survey of a dozen U.N. staffers showed no support for Annan's claims to the pension fund.
Ironically, all of the rules allowing such "double dipping" breezed through the General Assembly and apparently were not blocked by either the U.S., UK or Japanese missions.
The U.S. and Japan together finance more than 45 percent of the U.N.'s annual operating budget.
The Annan golden parachute comes as the organization struggles with a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit and attempts to raise funds for a massive renovation of its deteriorating New York City headquarters.
Some of those struggles can be pegged to the ongoing U.N.-Iraq Oil-for-Food program, which has resulted in scandal. More than $2.5 billion still remains "unaccounted for" from the program that allowed Saddam Hussein to pocket billions of dollars before being removed from power.
Editor's note:
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