United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has taken steps prior to the 2026 budgetary vote, as part of a broader reform drive under his UN80 Initiative.
A significant portion of these austerity measures emerges as the Trump administration has sought to cut costs, utilizing DOGE. In March, Guterres cautioned against reductions in U.S. contributions to the U.N., asserting that “implementing recent funding cuts will render the world less healthy, less secure, and less prosperous.” The United States, being the foremost financial contributor to the global organization, has provided billions over recent years, covering approximately one-third of its budget.
Nevertheless, these organizational spending reductions do not seem to have impacted high-ranking U.N. personnel.
“The American public is not even aware of this,” a diplomatic source informed Digital. “Individuals appointed to serve the world’s impoverished receive greater benefits than those found in any investment banking firms.”
The diplomatic insider revealed to Digital that the proposed “zero-growth” budget for 2026 continues to feature “numerous benefits” for U.N. staff at professional and director levels, in addition to assistant secretaries, under-secretaries, and the secretary-general.
Digital recently disclosed that Guterres’ earnings totaled $418,348, an amount surpassing the base salary of the President. This figure also excludes various benefits afforded to the U.N. chief, such as a luxurious Manhattan residence and a chauffeured vehicle.
Furthermore, while U.N. documents suggest that senior-level U.N. staff are “going to be the ,” the source asserts that “the 2026 budget leaves none of that unaffected.”
A compilation of benefits is provided below:
U.N. professional employees, including Guterres, receive a standard salary along with a supplementary salary multiplier determined by their position. These multipliers aim to “maintain equivalent purchasing power across all duty stations” and vary from 16% in Eswatini, Africa, to 86.8% in Switzerland, as per information furnished to Digital by a U.N. source.
Compensation levels have been established for comparison with “equivalently graded positions within the comparator civil service in Washington, D.C.,” with remuneration typically “10 to 20% higher than the comparator service” in order to “attract and retain personnel from all nations, including the comparator.”
Additional expenses for which reimbursement may be provided encompass taxes incurred and accommodation expenses.
The rent for U.N. personnel can be subsidized by up to 40% if it “surpasses a designated rent threshold” determined by an employee’s earnings.
Numerous member states grant U.N. employees tax exemptions, yet staff members of the organization who are required to pay taxes at their assigned duty station receive reimbursement for these expenditures.
Significant benefits are available for staff members with dependents.
Personnel are granted an allowance equivalent to 6% of their net income if their spouses earn less than an entry-level general service U.N. salary.
Parental staff members are eligible for a fixed allowance of $2,929 for children under 18, or those under 21 attending secondary education. A supplementary child allowance for staff without spouses is fixed at $1,025.
U.N. personnel may be awarded grants to subsidize a segment of the educational expenses for dependent children through up to four years of post-secondary studies. Reimbursements are computed on a progressive scale. In an illustrative calculation, the U.N. clarifies that it would refund $34,845 of a $47,000 tuition fee.
Boarding expenses may also be refunded up to $5,300 during primary and secondary schooling.
U.N. staff members are enrolled in the U.N. joint staff pension fund, enabling employees to contribute 23.7% of “pensionable remuneration, with two-thirds covered by the organization and one-third by the staff member.”
Travel expenses are covered “on initial appointment, upon a change of duty station, upon separation from service, for official business trips, for home leave travel, and for visits to family members.” In certain cases, the U.N. also finances travel for eligible spouses and dependent children.
Travel costs encompass a “daily subsistence allowance (DSA)” intended to cover “the average expenditure for lodging and other outlays.” Qualified family members receive half the DSA, whereas director-level personnel and higher obtain an extra DSA supplement.
For staff members relocating assignments at specific duty stations, U.N. mobility incentives commence at $6,700 and can increase to over $15,075.
Should individuals change stations for an assignment exceeding one year, settling-in benefits include 30 days’ DSA for staff and half-DSA for eligible families, in addition to one month of net salary and one month of post adjustment at the assignment duty station. Relocation expenses may cover the complete or partial removal and transportation of household effects, or their storage.
Hardship allowances ranging from $5,930 to $23,720 may be awarded to non-local staff at specific duty stations. The U.N. provides allowances of $19,800 for staff with dependents and $7,500 for staff without dependents assigned to non-family duty stations “to acknowledge the heightened financial and psychological difficulties stemming from involuntary separation.” Danger pay of $1,645 can also be disbursed to staff whose affiliation or employment might render them “explicitly, consistently, and directly targeted,” or in duty stations presenting a “significant risk of becoming collateral damage in warfare or active armed conflict.”
Separation payments, usually amounting to several months’ remuneration, are provided if an appointment is concluded owing to “abolition of post or reduction of staff; ill health or incapacity for continued service; unsatisfactory performance; agreed termination.” Individuals whose service is terminated due to unsatisfactory performance or misconduct may be granted half of the standard separation payment.
A repatriation grant may also be disbursed to personnel who have completed at least five years in expatriate service, unless they were “summarily dismissed.”
Responding to inquiries regarding Digital’s source’s assertions about U.N. employee remuneration being comparable to that of an investment banker, Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that the claim was “ludicrous” and “shows a lack of understanding of both the United Nations and the investment banking sectors.”
Dujarric did not dispute that the 2026 budget proposal contains no reduction in senior personnel or their benefits. “The budget proposal for 2026 was drafted prior to the initiation of the UN80 initiative,” he noted. “We are presently engaged in identifying efficiencies, including post reductions, and an amended proposal will be presented to the General Assembly in the Fall for its discussions, which typically occur between October and December.”
Dujarric further stated that the International Civil Service Commission, an autonomous body comprising 15 expert appointees responsible for establishing the U.N.’s system of salaries, benefits, and allowances, is “conducting a thorough review of the compensation framework for international Professional and higher category staff,” with findings slated for presentation in 2026.
“The secretary-general holds no authority over the decisions of the ICSC or the appointment of its members,” he affirmed.