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Bill eases retirement regs for those with disabilities
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Posted on Apr 01 2008
A lawmaker has introduced legislation easing certification requirements for potential retirees who have disabilities.
Rep. Joseph Reyes, a former chairman of the NMI Retirement Fund, says that the current requirements are too difficult to satisfy and have failed to achieve the intended purpose.
Under existing law, a potential disabled retiree must be evaluated by two physicians and a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and get certification that he or she is totally and permanently disabled due to physical or mental incapacitation.
According to Reyes, OVR counselors lack medical and psychiatric expertise or credentials to issue such certification. This situation has created a hardship for OVR, for the retirees, and for the Retirement Fund.
“This legal requirement of OVR counselors places the office in the untenable situation of either requiring counselors to make judgments that are beyond the scope of their training, or not complying with the law. Both courses of action could be detrimental to retirees and or to the Retirement Fund,” Reyes states in his bill.
He adds that a certification by two physicians, of whom one is a specialist in the area of disability being evaluated, is enough to protect the Fund and its members from abuse.
To become law, the bill must be passed by both the House and Senate, and approved by the governor.
