Pension assured for some retirees

Some CNMI retirees are assured of getting their pension checks this week following yesterday’s meeting between Fund and administration officials headed by Gov. Juan N. Babauta.

Fund board chair Joseph Reyes said that it was agreed that some $700,000 to $800,000 would be deposited yesterday from government offices. This particular amount would cover the payment for retirees who receive their pension through electronic transfer or ACH accounts.

“Chances are good [to pay off pension]. They are doing deposits. I compliment our colleagues from the government for making deposits. As a result, we’d be able to fund the ACH account. The deposit must be in at least two days before payday,” said Reyes.

As for those claiming their pension checks directly from the Fund, the government is still scrambling for funds.

“The $700,000 to $800,000 would be just enough for today. As for the [hard] checks, we’ve got two days to wait. We still have time Thursday and Friday to get it,” said Reyes.

The chairman said Fund officials including himself, administrator Karl T. Reyes, and board member Oscar Camacho met with the governor, Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig and Budget and Management director Ed Tenorio at the Governor’s Office yesterday morning to discuss the matter.

“I also understand the Finance Department. Likewise, the governor was very, very sincere in addressing this issue. Even in his last days in office, he has never given up. The problem is, we just don’t have the cash,” the Fund official said.

He said he told the Executive Branch that pension checks must be a priority “over all others.”

“I know the government has others problems like CUC. So we have to make a choice. Is it electricity or pension? In my personal view, you don’t mess up with a man’s paycheck. We could live without power or a blackout every now and then but…not without a paycheck. There are certain obligations to meet in the bank, food on the table, payment of bills,” he said.

He said pension “is a contractual obligation of government to the retirees.”

Fund administrator Karl T. Reyes earlier said that the agency needs a total of $2.3 million for the last pension payment of the year. It has collected only $1.1 million.

There are some 2,000 government retirees in the CNMI, who receive from a low of $6,000 to a high of $168,000 a year.