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Reyes urges staggered bonus release
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Posted on Jan 06 1999
The chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee has suggested that the CNMI government release the 30 percent lump sum bonus for some 110 retired employees in staggard payment to give leeway in raising enough funds.
Rep. Karl T. Reyes acknowledged that it would be difficult for the administration to meet its obligation to civil service employees who have opted to retire in recent months to avail of the retirement benefits.
But he said these retirees should be able to reflect their actual annuity despite failure to receive the cash bonus equivalent to 30 percent of their annual salary.
“If the money is not there, how can the government pay,” Reyes said in an interview, adding that some retired employees have not received the benefits for the last two to three years.
The legislator echoed the concerns of Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, chair of the House committee on Health, Education and Welfare, who has raised fear that the 110 employees may lose their bonus altogether and non-receipt of the money would reduce their annual pension.
According to Reyes, the government should adopt a mechanism in which it can provide the benefits in small amount over a certain period until they are completely paid out.
“If it can stretch out the payment of the bonus, it will help the government to raise revenues so it can meet its financial obligations,” he explained.
A total of 155 prospective retirees are eligible for retirement, of whom 40 employees have been determined ineligible to receive the 30 percent bonus which, under the law, is given once employees are out of office.
Finance officials earlier have sought assistance of the legislature to repeal or amend existing laws, including the 30 percent retirement bonus, which will cost the cash-strapped government millions of dollars in additional expenditures.
Due to the continuous drop in actual revenue collections as a result of the worsening economic crisis in the Northern Marianas, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has slashed its spending package by 13.4 percent or $32.5 million short of the fiscal budget approved last September.
