Inos told reporters that he and Sablan continue to talk about the possibility of allowing retirees and government employees to move out of the CNMI’s sinking Retirement Fund system.
The administration and Sablan, Inos said, have to “go over the Social Security project one more time.”
But it is going to be a challenge, Inos added. The CNMI government will have to “reach out” to the Social Security Administration and this may require money.
“So we need to really talk about that and Kilili is the individual that can make that thing happen because it might [also] require legislation in the U.S. Congresss,” Inos said.
Sablan earlier disclosed that he and Inos had been looking at a way to help not only the retirees, but also those who are ready to retire.
The Retirement Fund’s consultants have revealed it may only have three years to live, and floating a pension obligation bond cannot save it.
The government owes the Fund close to $300 million.
Asked how close he and Sablan can achieve their goal, Inos said the congressman is currently discussing the matter with the Social Security Administration.
“We are going to meet again just to pick up where we left off because we are looking at U.S. Social Security as one aspect of addressing the retirement program problem,” Inos added.
“We cannot really talk about specifics until we have an idea as to how it can be done and until we know if the Social Security Administration is amenable to that or is willing to take our members over,” he said.
