Frankly, only the mentally challenged, those who have not been paying attention for the last few years, or individuals who just plain do not care could be ignorant concerning the likely collapse of the Retirement Fund. Every citizen should take pause and consider the mind-set of our legislators, who passed legislation which facilitated nonpayment to the fund, thus making a bad situation very much worse.
The Legislature/central government has for years (decades) looked the other way as one department after another (with the exception of PSS and NMC) have failed to make their employer contributions to the Retirement Fund. Most people know that the fund has brought legal action in an attempt to force the central government to pay the amount owed.
Not long ago a newspaper headline stated that the Fund had won the case against the government. What has not been made public (at least to my knowledge) is what arraignments have been made to facilitate repayment.
According to the above-mentioned newspaper article, nearly one billion dollars is owed to the Fund. Obviously, all government departments must make (and continue making) their matching fund payments, but it is also of the utmost importance that the central government start making additional payments (unless they have a spare billion laying around) to start reducing the government’s outstanding financial debt to the Fund.
If the government is unwilling to live up to its obligations, the court must immediately start identifying government assets for liquidation. The court should sell or lease government land, buildings, equipment, and anything else of value, and the proceeds should be deposited directly in to the Retirement Fund. It is way past time to stop coddling the central government/Legislature and start playing hardball. If an acceptable repayment regiment can not be set up very soon, perhaps it is time for the federal government to take action in an attempt to save the Retirement Fund. The government has brought about (due to lack of responsibility) the looming disaster the Fund is facing, and it is time the government faced the consequences.
I do wish to state for the record that the Retirement Fund administrators themselves should be applauded for their tireless effort to hold the government accountable for outstanding financial obligations; they continue to work diligently to assure the Fund remains solvent.
THOMAS WILKINS
San Antonio, Saipan
