Fund Chairman Sixto Igisomar said they will make sure that any form of abuses will be prevented.
“We will secure so it will not disappear and go bankrupt. We want the people we have faith in the Fund,” Igisomar said after Tudela signed the proclamation designating Oct. 25 to 31 as National Save for Retirement Week.
Tudela lauded the Fund officials for their “untiring efforts to keep the retirement program going by providing annuities, pensions and health protection coverage to all its members, even those who no longer contribute directly to the program.”
He said “employees in the public and private sectors other tax-exempt organizations and self-employed individuals can benefit from increased awareness of the need to save for retirement and the availability of tax-advantage retirement savings to assist them in saving for retirement.”
Fund Administrator Mark Aguon said the proclamation “further strengthened the awareness” of government workers regarding their responsibility to the retirement program.
He informed the mayor that the Fund’s stock performance exceeded the losses from the last fiscal year, and the current market trend has helped the agency recoup the millions of dollars in losses recorded in fiscal year 2008.
Fund trustee Frank Rosario commended the mayor’s awareness program which helps recognize the importance of the Retirement Fund.
He noted that the mayor himself will soon retire once his second and last term in office ends in January.
Tudela said he will again become a proud member of the Retirement Fund.
The mayor at the same time said the Legislature should also be credited for restructuring the retirement system in the public sector by coming out with the Defined Contribution plan.
Aguon said the proclamation is very timely since new Fund members are now being enrolled in the Defined Contribution plan, in which the retirees will be more responsible for his retirement.
Tudela said he wants to remind workers that they should start saving for their retirement.
His proclamation states that the cost of retirement continues to rise because many Americans are living longer than before, the number of employers providing retiree health coverage continues to decline and retiree healthcare costs continue to increase at a rapid pace.
