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Fund deserves support, not criticisms
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Posted on Apr 18 2012
I am dismayed by the attacks on the Retirement Fund staff, its board of trustees, and its attorneys in regard to their secrecy in the process of deciding to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the Fund.
If the Fund’s decision had come before the Legislature as a recommendation, does anyone in their right mind think it would have been accepted, or passed, without self-serving amendments —much less within a reasonable time frame?
If the Fund had announced its intention without submitting it to the Legislature, does anyone think it would have been allowed to happen? You can bet that the Legislature would have come up with a hurriedly put together law banning such conduct, or a retiree would have been found to place a stop order in the court, or the administration might have issued a ban via executive directive.
What the Fund board, staff, and attorneys have come up with is a perfect solution. The Fund doesn’t dissolve, it remains in existence. There’s a two-month cushion to give everyone time to adjust. There’s a promised time-frame of 4-6 months, which may become painful, but is tolerable. There is the assurance of participation of retirees in the process, which is essential for acceptance. And there is the intent to restructure the pension system, so that it will last longer than the 2-3 years currently predicted. All to be done outside of the political arena—so that no one can grandstand, no one can play games, no one can corrupt the process.
What’s more, they took all the right steps to inform everyone once the decision was made. First came the governor and the Legislature. Then the media. Then the members themselves. All in the period of just a few hours. And the news went out, in full, via e-mail as well.
The Legislature, the administration and the Commonwealth Retirement Association had their chance. They could have come up with the same solution. But largely because of politics, not one of them had even come close to finding as workable an answer to the Fund’s problems.
The Fund board, staff and attorneys deserve praise and thanks for doing what needed to be done, doing it so well, and doing it, finally, so timely. They deserve support, not criticism.
[B]Ruth L. Tighe[/B] [I]Tanapag, Saipan[/I]
