Exploring possible solutions to Fund mess

I am a recent retiree from PSS on Saipan. I receive a pension of $1,000 a month ($1,022). It is my primary means of support. I attended a meeting last week in which the Retirement Fund spokesman proposed solutions to the Fund crisis. One solution was for retirees to take 40-50 percent cut in their pensions for a few years (?) while the CNMI government takes the time to figure out what to do with this horrendously embarrassing situation. It should be horrendously embarrassing! It really looks like somewhere near $300 million was not remitted to the Fund by the CNMI government. I was told that the Legislature did “appropriate” the money? I am not sure what the legal term is for what really happened. I will attend Judge Govendo’s open discussions on March 13 and 14 and try to find out that word.

I do know that I could not live on $400 to $500 per month if I camped in the park on Beach Road. Rent, utilities, food, gasoline, auto insurance and repairs, medical insurance—it is already very difficult with my full pension. Top that off with being a cancer patient, and I personally am at my wit’s end to see how I will proceed. Four months ago I was afraid I was going to die. Now I am afraid I will live—and be unable to provide for myself. I do not think I am alone with this kind of anxiety. I met several individuals at that meeting on March 6 that were also angry and frightened. Senior citizens afraid of the loss of our dignity. Hardworking citizens that did everything right and planned to be able to provide for themselves when old and weak. What a surprise to get the news.

I think the senator at the March 6 meeting said that the Legislature did allocate the proper funds to the Fund. I believe she meant that the Legislature was not responsible for the problem, only for the solution. She said the Legislature was working on a series of ideas and proposals and showed a photocopied list of pending legislation. She said the Legislature is having a hard time getting an agreement on these issues. She said that several times! Several individuals came forth with obvious possibilities for funding the Retirement Fund, like income tax, sales tax, and property tax. All these are things that share the solution with all citizens. The Legislature is well aware of the obvious solutions. I assume they are aware of all possible solutions? They need to know that they need to act on the solutions.

What happened to the Social Security Administration’s offer to take over the NMI Retirement Fund? I never did hear the exact mechanics of that deal. The only follow-up on that report was that I later heard that the administration didn’t like that proposal because they felt that, if they were to participate in Social Security, they would have to make their contributions on time! Read that again for me, please.

I personally think that Social Security for all Saipan is the best advancement the government could make. Then all workers in the CNMI would have the same program. A person could go from being a government employee to being a public sector employee without giving up, losing, of compromising their retirement investments. CNMI citizens could work in the United States and have a continuous retirement investment. The changes would be nowhere near as painful as the changes we will get if we wait for Legislature to figure out a solution that they all agree upon. Let us tell them what to do! They are sworn to do what the citizens tell them to do.