Retirement bill spares present gov’t employees

Present government employees will not be affected by the proposed elimination of the 30 percent retirement bonus, but only those who will be hired after the scheduled abolition by tomorrow, lawmakers assured yesterday.

Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes said the Legislature has put in place measures to guarantee that employees currently working for the government will not be denied from receiving such benefits even after the governor signs it into law.

“Those that are now entitled to it under the original law will not be affected in any way with the passage of this act,” he said in an interview.

But the senator acknowledged vague provisions of the bill offered by Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, which have sparked fears among employees in the public sector that they may lose the bonus by Dec. 15 of this year — the date set forth in the proposal.

Mr. Reyes pointed out the intent of the Legislature in passing House Bill 11-359 was not to deny current eligible employees from getting their bonus upon retirement, but to help the cash-strapped government reduce its financial obligations to its personnel.

Even though it will take the CNMI up to 20 years to completely eliminate this benefit, enacting this legislation is a starting point in making sure that it will no longer be an obligation for others who will be in the government payroll in the future, according to the senator.

“Under the Constitution, all individuals entitled to these benefits shall not have those diminished or reduced,” he explained. “Therefore, those who are entitled to the 30 percent bonus will not have their money taken away even if this becomes law.”

Mr. Reyes added that “only those people who will be hired as new employees in the government will not be eligible for the bonus.”

Cut down personnel costs

The Senate last week passed the bill nearly one year since its passage in the lower house. The legislation was one of the measures sought by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in his effort to curb personnel costs of the government during the financial crisis confronting the CNMI.

NMI Retirement Fund Administrator Juan S. Torres called the Senate’s attention as the bill proposed set Dec. 15, 1999 for the elimination of the bonus — which is equivalent to 30 percent of the annual salary of a retiree and is given after 20 years of service.

He told senators last week that it has drained NMIRF’s resources as it means higher annuity payment for retirees despite the fact that the Fund has not received a single penny for the government’s contribution on this cash benefit.

Mr. Torres has also allayed fears by those government personnel on board that they might be losing the benefit with its abolition. The governor has yet to act on the measure, although he has 40 days under the law to either approve or reject it.

Asked if it will make a difference in the current austerity measures being observed by the administration, Mr. Reyes believed it is better to repeal the original law now than to wait for additional months before acting on it.

“We need to stop it at some point in time and this is a good time to stop it,” he explained. “Otherwise, it will not only be 20 years.”

House Speaker Diego T. Benavente also echoed his concerns as he noted that both the Legislature and the Tenorio administration were trying to find ways to cut down on government expenses.

“It’s a matter of doing what is right at this time and saving the government money. If in the future we should put it back where we have surpluses, why can we not do this to our employees?” he asked.