For too long has the Retirement Fund been catering to employees of the CNMI government with out of bounds benefits. For example, Class I members who contribute a smaller percentage are given the option to do a buyout plan to move into Class II so they can get a bigger pension when they retire. Isn’t this ridiculous?
Employees who have been contributing as Class I members are then suddenly OK’d to move up to Class II just before they retire so they can receive a higher pension.
To me this is not right. This is what I see as one of the mistakes that our Retirement Fund trustees have made. This has to stop.
If those Class I members were contributing at the same rate as Class II members from the beginning, our pension would have had more to invest during the economic boom and the pension portfolio would have seen a much higher return.
Another error is the COLA. Retirees who are receiving fat pension checks were also given COLA benefits. But in order to receive COLA you would have to be age 55 and older. This is ridiculous again. What happened to the equal benefits for all retirees? This COLA should have never been given to any retiree in the first place.
Adding even more problems to the depletion of the Fund is the annual raise of the annuities for those over 55 years of age. Why in the world would we give raises to the retirees when they don’t work anymore? Pay raises are given to those who work in a merit system and deserve a raise when they outperform their duties. I feel retirees do not need a raise especially when they receive a fat pension check.
This whole benefit package was implemented the wrong way in the first place. The benefits should have been given to lower annuities instead. Not retirees who are receiving high pension checks. Just think of it. The bigger the amount, the more COLA you get. Any way you think about it, it should have never been given to any retiree.
Lastly, I would support the option mentioned by the Fund that would at least help it survive for around 15 or more years. I would also like to recommend that cuts not be made for those receiving less than $30,000 per annum. However, COLA and annual raises should be stopped.
Sincerely,
ALVIN KING
CNMI Retiree
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