Sen. Francisco Q. Cruz, R-Tinian, and the other eight senators, are pushing for the passage of Senate Bill 17-27.
According to the bill, offering early retirement plan to those who want to avail of it will reduce the bloated government workforce.
Refilling the positions that will be vacated must be done with the joint approval of both houses of the Legislature.
“It is the intent of this legislation to simultaneously reduce the burden of the Retirement Fund and the commonwealth government by implementing a government-backed early retirement incentive plan for a limited period of time,” the bill states on its findings.
The Retirement Fund has two pension systems — the Defined Benefit or DB plan and the Defined Contribution or DC plan.
The bill targets the DB members whose employment with the government dates back to the 1980s.
The DB plan has accrued liabilities in excess of $500 million.
The Fund’s board of trustees recently adopted a resolution prohibiting government employees from retiring unless their employers have paid their contributions to the pension agency.
