The Pension Fund recently announced upgrades to its Member Self-Service portal (MSS), which are major improvements that will be valuable to all pensioners. The revised MSS portal offers a user-friendly interface and introduces several new features with smoother navigation and more efficient management of personal pension information. The key enhancements highlighted by the UNJSPF in its recent announcement included the following pages which are accessible once you are logged in: “Official UNJSPF Forms”: A new functionality assists those separating from service with the submission of their pension benefit election and payment instructions, as well as the required supporting documents. Redesigned forms are offered with a more modern look and feel and comprehensive instructions, facilitating completion, streamlining internal processes, and minimizing errors. The forms are available here, pre-completed with your name and UNJSPF Unique ID number. “Upload Documents”: You can submit any new/additional documents here, including revisions of the A/2 form for Designation of Beneficiary, and also view them at “Submitted Documents”. “Contact Details and Emergency Contacts”: Click on this link for the page offers the option to provide more complete contact details for yourself as well as emergency contact details. We would like to highlight one aspect of the MSS page titled “Official UNJSPF Documents”, which is mainly a list of COLA letters, but which should also contain the A2 form for Designation of Beneficiary, birth certificate  and marriage certificate (if relevant) that you submitted before retirement . The original versions of those documents are not included on the “Submitted Documents” page, but any revisions that you wish to submit can be uploaded through the “Upload Documents” page (see link above). UNJSPF MSS Portal

BAFUNCS was represented in person at the 56th Council in Vienna (21-24 July, 2026) by Andy Flatt as our Head of Delegation and Magdi Bona, with remote participation by Stephen Rudgard and Claudine Pichon. The Council has been considering the four main areas of activity of the Federation, including Pensions, After-Service Health Insurance, Membership and Communication, with reports from the chairs of those Standing Committees.  A fifth area of work on Succession Planning was elevated to the level of a new Standing Committee. Important aspects from the reports on those work areas will be summarized in future posts on the website and in Bulletins. The most immediate news relates to the election of several senior officers of FAFICS, completed during the 56th FAFICS Council. A total of 44 member associations voted during these elections. Darshak Shah from AFICS-NY, who had been co-nominated by BAFUNCS, was elected as President by a very clear margin over the other candidate. Darshak is known to several ExCo members, and ExCo took a decision to co-sponsor Darshak’s candidature once it was clear that he was prepared to stand. Darshak succeeds Jerry Barton who is stepping down after a four year term. Darshak Shah Personal Statement and Curriculum Vitae The three elected Vice-Presidents were Nancy Hurtz-Soyka from AFICS-NY (second term), Maria Machicado from AFICS-Bolivia, and Aye Win from AFICS-Myanmar. There were eight candidates for Vice-President. The elected Treasurer is Peter Wichmand from AAFI-AFICS Switzerland, also by a very clear margin over the other candidate. ExCo looks forward to working with the new President and the Bureau.

The Abbey Gardens were resplendent with herbaceous borders as we strolled through the historic grounds, guided by Katie and Charles Robson.  We learned about the Abbey’s turbulent pre-dissolution relationship with the people of the town who had suffered greatly under the abbey’s oppression. They had attacked it several times, which led to the fortification of it’s defensive wall. The impressive Norman Gate and Abbey Gate, now the visitor’s entrance, were built to keep the local population out.  The Appleby Rose Garden which was in full bloom with 400 beautiful rose bushes, is dedicated to the US servicemen and women who were stationed in Suffolk during WW2. Lunch was served to 16 members in the spacious Pilgrims Kitchen. This was followed by a visit to Moyes Hall Museum, a medieval building in the heart of Bury with collections documenting the foundation of the early town, from creation and dissolution of the Abbey of St Edmund to fascinating insights into local superstitions and folklore. Nicky Rodgers

The CPP event was organized in the context of the Political Careers Week at UCL. BAFUNCS’ principal collaborators were the UCL Political Science Department and the Careers Service, which meant that most of the 80 students attending the event were Political Science students. The event was fully subscribed, reflecting an encouraging level of interest in working in the UN. The BAFUNCS panelists were Peter Kessler, Nicholas Rosellini, and Alison Tilbe, who had a variety of UN experiences across development, humanitarian and peacebuilding programming.  The panel was moderated by a post-graduate student from UCL, Varun Butaney. It was conducted in-person only, with no possibility of connecting online. The event started with a presentation showing the structure of the UN and the breadth of the its work, and all the career possibilities beyond the better known inter-governmental aspects. The presentation was followed by a conversation between the moderator and the panelists on three pre-set questions: Why, how, and where did you first join the UN – and what stage in your career did that occur? What are the pros and cons of working for the UN? What advice would you give to anyone wishing to join the UN? In the following Q&A session, the students were very engaged and asked many questions. Much of the conversation revolved around contract work, what type of work experience is required, etc. The panellists explained the current realities of UN reform and budget reductions, but encouraged students to seek employment with the UN. With a very varied and complex system with so many UN entities and no central recruitment facility, it was difficult to point to a single route to access employment, and instead students were directed to target a few specific organisations. Overall, the session went very well and the students showed great appreciation.