Previous Story
Retirement Fund hires PSS legal counsel
|
Posted on Dec 27 2005
The NMI Retirement Fund decided last week to hire Public School System legal counsel Karen Klaver.
The Fund board of trustees approved Klaver’s employment during a meeting Thursday evening.
Fund administrator Karl T. Reyes said yesterday that Klaver was one of three lawyers who responded to the Fund’s job vacancy announcement.
“She was chosen by the board,” said Reyes.
He said that, based on consultation with Klaver, she would not be able to leave PSS until about February 2006 due to pending cases.
“It was anticipated that she’d be able to begin next month but looks like it won’t take place until February,” said Reyes.
The Fund offers no more than $65,000 as annual salary for a legal counsel position.
Klaver previously worked as a Supreme Court clerk. She joined the Attorney General’s Office before joining PSS about two years ago.
The Fund, meantime, has had no legal counsel for over a year now.
Klaver’s entry comes amid a decision by the Fund board to file a lawsuit against the central government for not paying its outstanding dues to the Fund.
The government owes the Fund $85 million in employer contributions covering December 2001 to the present.
Representatives from the Fund said that, although the administration pays its contribution, any amount it remits is credited to the oldest unpaid account.
The Fund reported collecting over $56 million from the government from October 2001 to September 2005 but this was credited to previous debts covering fiscal years 1998 to 2001.
Fund officials also said that the government ceased paying its dues altogether from August 1999 to September 2001.
Right now, the Fund administrator said that the government is four pay periods behind, which translates to over $3 million.
He said the government usually pays $835,000 to $850,000 per pay period.
