Ramon S. Deleon Guerrero, an Independent candidate, said all of his opponents were responsible for the Retirement Fund mess because they approved bills that increased benefits without appropriate funds.
He criticized the governor, whose candidacy he endorsed in 2001, for signing legislation allowing the cash-strapped CNMI government to suspend payments to the Fund for 18 months.
“That is the law that broke the Fund,” he said. “Retirees, beware of four more years. They all contributed to the demise of the Retirement Fund,” he added, referring to his three opponents.
Former Retirement Fund Chairman Juan T. Guerrero said he has been out of local politics for 20 years.
He was, however, the chairman of the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial campaign in 1993 and has served on government boards.
Fitial said his administration tried its best to save the Fund from further bleeding. He said it was under his leadership that the more fiscally prudent Defined Contribution pension plan was established.
“I have [also] directed the acting secretary of finance to increase and start paying the 16 percent [court declared employer contribution rate] due to the Retirement Fund. Right now, the law only authorizes 11 percent,” the governor said.
“We are consistently paying the mandates of the court judgment. Before P.L. 15-15 came into being, my administration was paying the Retirement Fund at actuarial rate,” he added.
The Republican Party’s Hofschneider, for his part, said Public Law 13-60 is a testament to his efforts to reform the broken local pension system.
Hofschneider said this is not the time for CNMI’s leaders to be bickering because there is so much at stake.
“Instead of creating hysteria, let’s all come together. This is too serious to play politics with,” he said.
When asked how they intend to make the Fund solvent, all the candidates said they will make regular payments to the agency.
Ramon S. Deleon Guerrero, however, said the Fund’s major financial consultant, Merrill Lynch, should be “let go” because it failed to bring in good returns for the pension agency’s investments.
He said Merrill Lynch was paid $2.4 million in one year for its consultancy work yet failed to give sound advice.
He said the Fund lost about $160 million in its international stock market investments over a year ago.
