“The World Turned Upside Down – and what Britain needs to do about it” This will be the subject of the Tuesday morning “conversazione” between our President, Sir Mark Lowcock, and the Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell, MP.  Given recent events, there will be much to discuss about the UK’s role in the World, and in the UN, too. There are still places available for the Annual Reunion in Norwich but the pre-booked hotel rooms will expire at the end of March.  So book now if you want to benefit from the advantageous price. Invitation & Booking Details for AR 2025 Registration Form for AR 2025  

The Oxford Region will be visiting Trinity College Oxford on Wednesday 25th June at 11:00 to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the UN. The visit will comprise a guided tour of the President’s and Fellows’ garden, which are not accessible to the public, for about one hour. Then this would be followed by unguided time to enjoy the gardens and the rest of the college, including the Quads Hall and the Chapel. The College will charge £10.00 per head for the visit, payable on the day. The Summer Lunch will be held afterwards at around 12:30 at a venue in central Oxford, yet to be finalized. Once the restaurant is selected, we will distribute the menu beforehand to allow selection of meal choices. Please let me know by email if you would like to join: srudgard@yahoo.com.

UNJSPF Statement 13 March 2025 13 March 2025 The Fund has received queries from participants, retirees and beneficiaries about its stability during times of uncertainty. All clients can be assured that the Fund remains financially strong and that their UNJSPF benefits are secure. The following questions and answers have been compiled to explain the current position of the Fund. How would the Fund’s solvency be impacted if a large number of participants were to leave and no new participants joined? This is not expected to have a significant impact on the Fund’s solvency. The Fund formally appraises its solvency position through: an actuarial valuation conducted every two years; and an asset liability management (ALM) study conducted every four years, an in-depth analysis of its financial condition. Through these studies, the Fund considers multiple scenarios, including a scenario where the number of participants falls. The studies show that the Fund’s solvency is not particularly sensitive to changing participant numbers. This is because the Fund is not over-reliant on future contributions to fund the benefits already accrued. How likely is it that the Fund will still be able to pay my pension for the rest of my life? The ability for the Fund to pay benefits is the key priority for the Pension Board, which had previously stated that the “Fund has very low appetite for the risk of losing its long-term sustainability and not being able to meet its long-term financial commitments”. Based on the results of the last actuarial valuation (at 31 December 2023) and the 2023 ALM study, the Fund is confident that it will be able to pay all future benefits. What would happen if the Fund were not able to achieve the investment returns required to sustain it over the long term?  The Fund has a number of mechanisms in place to monitor, measure and manage the future sustainability of the Fund over the long term (in excess of 30 years). A key tool is the regular ALM study that is usually carried out every four years. This allows the Fund to consider a range of scenarios and the optimal asset allocation to maximize investment returns with the desired level of risk. It is important to highlight that historically the Fund has consistently generated a real rate of return well above the rate used in the actuarial valuation. In the event that the Fund were to experience a number of years of actuarial valuations reporting a deficit, it would commission additional ALM studies to identify a course of action with the assets to manage this risk. What would be the impact of a large fall in the financial markets on the Fund’s solvency position? The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of assets to maximize return within an acceptable level of risk. This inevitably means investing in assets that may experience fluctuations from time to time. However, the focus remains on investment returns over the long-term. The historical experience is that the Fund consistently delivers the minimum required rate of return, even after several crises throughout more than seven decades. If the Fund’s assets experience a downturn at the time of an actuarial valuation, it is possible that the reported solvency may be lower and may even exhibit a deficit at that point in time. Nevertheless, the Fund’s solvency is considered over a longer period of time and not just from the results of one actuarial valuation. Short term shocks do not affect the ability of the Fund to fulfill its commitments.

BAFUNCS will again conduct its AGM virtually in 2025, as it did in the previous five years (2020-2024). The main elements are: Documentation. This is provided in the Association’s Spring 2025 Newsletter. Online discussion group. There is a discussion group on the website, where members can ask questions and receive responses from members of the Executive Zoom session, 10.00 a.m. on Monday 12 May 2025. There will be a single session on Zoom, moderated by our President, Sir Mark Lowcock. Members interested in attending this meeting should indicate their interest to agm2025@bafuncs.org and they will be sent the link a few days prior to the meeting. This meeting will consider the reports of the Executive Committee and the Benevolent Fund, and any other business raised by members. Annual Reunion in Norwich: There will be an opportunity during the Reunion for participants to discuss the Association’s activities. Voting: Voting on the items of business will be managed by Alnoor Nathoo as our Polling Officer, operating under the aegis of our President. The deadline for voting will be Saturday 31 May, i.e. after all the other elements have been completed. Download the AGM 2025 Process & Voting Form