UN budget payments beat forecast, but cash pressures persist

The United Nations ended September $608 million ahead of its regular-budget collection forecast, allowing it to repay internal loans, but the timing of member states’ payments continues to make spending difficult to plan, a senior official told the General Assembly’s budget committee on 7 October. The $608 million is a figure above forecast, not a cash balance. [1]

Catherine Pollard, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, said low cash had forced the organisation to borrow the full amount available from its Working Capital Fund in June and from its Special Account by July. Larger-than-expected payments in September enabled it to repay those loans and replenish reserves. She said the year had begun with liquidity reserves exhausted. [1]

By 30 September, the UN had collected about $3.4 billion in regular-budget assessments, $983 million more than at the same point in 2025. Of this year’s total, $982 million was the delayed receipt of outstanding contributions. Pollard said 141 member states had paid their 2026 regular-budget assessments in full by the cut-off, compared with 136 a year earlier. [1]