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Fund trustees flying to Texas for conference
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Posted on Nov 08 2008
Four members of the NMI Retirement Fund’s board of trustees will travel to San Antonio, Texas, next week to attend a four-day employee benefits conference.
All seven of the trustees were expected to attend the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans conference, but three had to pull out because of prior obligations, said Mark Aguon, administrator for the Fund.
He said he wanted all new trustees to attend the conference, although he could not recall which ones were attending.
“It’s very important for new trustees to know what their responsibilities are. It’s a great way for them to get immersed in pension fund issues,” he said.
Two trustees will also be taking a benefits certification test.
Aguon said the Retirement Fund is paying for the trustees’ airfare and registration for the conference. He did not know the exact amount spent, but according to the conference Web site, registration costs run from $1,065 to $1,360 per person, depending on when the person registered and whether or not the attendee is a member of the organization.
Although the NMI Retirement Fund is currently underfunded, Aguon said trustees are regularly sent to the conference to keep them up to date on issues related to pension funds.
“I’d be more worried about trustees not up to date in their skills and knowledge,” he said. “It’s not something you can learn on the job, issues that are relevant now in pension funds. It’s always good to see from the point of view of bigger funds to see how they are dealing with the same issues we are dealing with.”
During the conference, lasting Nov. 16-19, Aguon said the trustees would take a class on fiduciary responsibility.
In fiscal year 2008, the CNMI government underfunded the NMI Retirement Fund by $33 million.
