Because it was initially not exempted from the shutdown, the Fund issued a notice last Friday that pension checks would be delayed.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial however, later included some positions in the Fund on the list of “essential” personnel.
The board of trustees decided to reopen the Fund office with partial staff last Monday and expressed confidence the benefits will be paid in a timely manner.
The Fund, in a statement, said the events leading to the government shutdown came so fast and caused many uncertainties.
“The applicability of the shutdown to the Fund challenged legal theories to their extremes; it was as unknown as the shutdown is unprecedented. What was absolutely known, however, was that payments must be paid to beneficiaries by Oct. 15 and all subsequent pension pay dates,” the trustees said.
Anticipating the shutdown, the Fund’s board said it held emergency meetings on Sept. 27 and 29 and unanimously agreed to authorize the Fund management to have the necessary staff to ensure that benefits are paid on Oct. 15.
The board noted that the livelihood of retirees and their beneficiaries depend largely on income paid by the Fund.
“The Fund will continue to work within the confines of the Constitution and the laws to obtain authorization and resources necessary to provide the most critical services to Fund members,” the board said.
Its other services, the board added, will remain suspended until a balanced budget is enacted into law.
The board said it will be closely monitoring the situation and will take any actions necessary to protect the entitlements of the defined benefit plan members.
Soon, the board said, it will bring more staffers back to work. “But there are considerable legal issues the Fund has to work through in order to do so, prior to the approval of a balanced budget,” it added.
