A message for retirees

If you are a retiree who has paid into the government’s Group Health and Life Insurance plan (GHLI) you must be aware that your health, the quality of your life and ability to function as your future retirement years unfold depends greatly upon the government’s acknowledgment and acceptance of its continued responsibility to honor the promise it made to you when you first started paying into the program. Now, in the September of your years as your earning capacity has probably declined, that promise—which was a contract to continue supporting your participation in the GHLI program, which was initially offered to you when becoming a government employee—may soon also be in jeopardy. It was an implied promise that the GHLI program would be there for those who continued participating as time passed and they aged.

The problem now concerns the matter of future automatic payment deductions for insurance premiums from pension checks when the day arrives when those payments are no longer made once the Retirement Fund collapses as experts now predict will occur in about two years or around the year 2013 or 14.

It cannot be ignored that prior to the NMI government’s closure of the Retirement Fund’s defined benefit plan to new members, the policy of offering NMI employees the opportunity to voluntarily participate in the government-sponsored Group Health and Life Insurance plan also had an unintended effect as it served to dissuade, in some measure, some—if not most—newly hired employees from seeking an alternative source for such policies other than that offered by the NMI government. By the very act of making such a program available makes the NMI somewhat culpable and thus worthy of blame in the potential for causing serious harm in the future to the health and well-being of its retired seniors should it let this program fail along with the Fund. While it’s too soon to tell, this might be the indictment should the government’s supported GHLI plan be permitted to collapse along with the Retirement Fund.

Thus, as can be seen for those currently retired, there is much more at stake for loss than one’s pension. The possibility exists that the Group Health and Life Insurance plan may also end.

By virtue of having made the GHLI offer, and thus available in the first place, such an enticing “carrot” served to encourage employees to participate in the NMI sponsored plan and in so doing discouraged their selection of some other alternative, viable, private plan.

Once the Fund collapses—as many have projected will occur in a couple years—this disaster has the potential of carrying along with it the GHLI plan down the drain as well unless the NMI government acts in a positive manner to keep this part of its promise.

If you are retired and have been reading and hearing about the dire condition of the Fund’s future financial continued viability and the very real possibility of it becoming bankrupt in about two years, then you should already be aware of the future effect on your pension. But there are other related difficulties many members will face that doesn’t appear to have been given too much contingency planning by the central government or Fund officials for continued participation of the GHLI or something similar; I haven’t heard anything about it.

If you have paid into these programs for many years your loss could be substantial, not only in the lost money paid out in premiums but also because of your advanced age as you probably won’t be able to purchase replacement policies except at exorbitantly high cost—if at all—and probably not at all if you have a pre-existing illness.

Members who have paid insurance premiums for years will lose their coverage unless there is an alternate method for making premium payments other than by way of payroll deductions, which will no longer be possible with a bankrupt Fund.

Considering that coverage for both programs will probably not be transferable to just any firm of one’s choice or preference—and considering that the years of previous payments will count for nothing when new coverage is arranged by the individual member—I further doubt if any firm with experience will accept NMI government issued IOU’s as a promise for future payment even if presumably backed by the full faith and credit of the NMI. It is worth remembering there have been times when the government didn’t pay its matching share and the “shortfall” had to be paid by the Fund. Without a functioning Fund there would be no agency available to step up and pay the government’s contractual matching contribution.

Most people are aware that group coverage is quite a bit less expensive than that arranged by individuals and, in the case of life insurance, the government has been paying part of the cost of retiree’s premiums so one can probably expect that program will be dropped and the cost of individually purchased life insurance will be more than double what it is now, with even much less coverage for the price.

With respect to medical and health insurance—as is always true—the matter of pre-existing illnesses becomes a factor in applying for coverage. Particularly for those with an existing condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, a heart condition, emphysema, kidney problems, cancer, high cholesterol, (LDL), HIV, Lupus Vulgaris, Lytigo and Bodig, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson, Hansen, or any one of the numerous unseen ravenous vultures of the air and body that can strike one down with little warning and otherwise be deemed prohibited from medical or life insurance coverage. I would imagine there might be a whole lot of retirees with one or more of the above conditions.

When the Fund runs out of money to pay pensions, those retired government employees who did not have the option of contributing to the national Social Security “safety net” will either be without income or they will need to rely on other sources—but most will probably suffer by experiencing much reduced income and a diminished standard of living. This occurring at a time when inflation will likely be rampant and more severe as the future unfolds.

Section 606 of the Covenant addressed the application of the U.S. Social Security system to the NMI but the government elected to opt out in favor of its own retirement plan. For those who haven’t paid into Social Security for the required 40 quarters (10 years), such people will not be eligible for monthly pension payments from Social Security.

Because the NMI government decided not to participate in the U.S. Social Security system and instead formed its own retirement system, many retirees are now particularly vulnerable once their promised retirement collapses. Therefore, when the Fund runs out of money after having cashed in its remaining and ever declining investment base to pay pensions, look for the Group Health and Life Insurance programs to be negatively impacted as well.

I can see where the matter can become a big problem for some people without medical coverage and eventually a problem for CHC and—by extension—the U.S. taxpayer. If you are a retiree, don’t wait until 5 minutes to midnight to express your concern about this matter to your representative.