Fund welcomes intervention bid of autonomous agencies

The NMI Retirement Fund’s board welcomes the efforts of some government agencies to intervene in the ongoing lawsuit between the pension agency and the central government.

Board chair Sixto K. Igisomar said that both the Commonwealth Ports Authority and Commonwealth Utilities Corp. filed last week motions to intervene in the case, which involves the Fund’s attempt to collect over $231 million in unpaid employer contributions owed by the central government.

Igisomar said these agencies’ intervention will be better for the Fund because it prevents the filing of separate cases that are in fact inter-related to the ongoing lawsuit between the Fund and the government.

“For me, it’s a lot better for the Fund and the trustees because we don’t need to fight separate cases. If they have cases and they think it’s related [to the existing lawsuit], go ahead and come in and we’ll settle it right there,” said Igisomar on Friday.

He believes the motions may be related to these agencies’ unpaid employer contributions and the new employer contribution rate of 61 percent beginning this fiscal year.

Fund officials earlier disclosed that the central government and other agencies have not been contributing at this actuarially determined rate since the new rates became effective on Oct. 1 and are now deficient in their employer contributions.

Igisomar said agencies may also want to intervene in the case to “protect” their assets, which are all considered part of government resources and property that the Fund wants to take over as collateral for the unpaid contributions.

He also cited the previous motion to intervene filed by the Commonwealth Retirees Association, which was granted by the court. “Like CRA, we should.allow them to come in and participate in the decision making. .Like the retirees, they also wanted to come in because they want their voices be heard, too,” said Igisomar.

Besides CPA and CUC, Saipan Tribune learned that two other autonomous agencies-the Commonwealth Development Authority and the Northern Marianas Housing Corp.-also filed Monday motions to intervene in the case.

During the board’s deliberation Friday, legal counsel Viola Alepuyo reported that the Fund will not oppose these motions. A hearing on the case was held Monday; the court will make its decision before the end of this month.

The court had ruled in 2009 that the government owes the Fund over $231 million in unpaid employer contributions. This amount keeps growing as the government continues to be delinquent in its contributions.