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Judge orders prompt process of Igitol’s withdrawal from DB plan
U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge Frances Tydingo-Gatewood yesterday ordered Settlement Fund Trustee Joyce C.H. Tang and the CNMI government to promptly process the request to withdraw from the Defined Benefits Plan filed by Ivan Igitol, a member of NMI Retirement Fund who was deployed in Afghanistan.
Tydingco-Gatewood said Settlement Fund Trustee Tang recommended that Igitol’s letter requesting termination of his membership in the Fund be considered a timely filed request.
The judge said the CNMI government agreed with Tang’s report and recommendation.
“The court concurs with the Settlement Fund’s analysis as detailed in her report,” Tydingco-Gatewood said.
Tang has agreed with Igitol’s request that although he was late in filing he should be allowed to terminate his Fund membership as he was then preparing for deployment to Afghanistan with the Guam Army National Guard in 2013.
Last month, Tydingco-Gatewood ordered the Settlement Fund Trustee to examine Igitol’s request and directed Tang to determine whether there is any basis for it.
In her report, Tang said in her consultation with the CNMI government, it has become apparent that she and the Commonwealth agree that Igitol, given the time frame of his military service, should be allowed to withdraw from the Defined Benefit Plan.
“We also agreed that this is a matter for the NMI Retirement Fund to resolve,” Tang said.
The trustee said she believes that Igitol should be afforded relied under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, to which the NMI government has agreed.
