NMIRF off-island portfolio sheds $14.5 million

The Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund reported a net loss of $14,491,747 in its off-island portfolio for the month ending Jan. 31, 2000.
However, the portfolio return for the current fiscal year covering the period September 30, 1999 to Jan. 31, 2000 jumped 12.89 percent to $42,932,627.
This brings to $376,070,214 the NMIRF’s total amount of off-island portfolio for this fiscal year.
NMIRF Administrator Juan S. Torres has proposed to the board a cash management arrangement with one bank to maximize the idle cash earning capacity, put all accounts in one place and reduce expenses.
Such arrangement, Mr. Torres said, will allow retirees who are staying off-island to withdraw their monthly pension through the bank.
The board, however, has deferred making any decision on the issue as Chair Vicente Camacho would like to study further how to make the arrangement more viable.
Earlier, Mr. Torres has warned the House of Representatives against passing measures that will only contribute to the depletion of the Fund’s assets.
Concerned about the financial status of the Fund, he asked the help of House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial in plugging the loopholes in the current retirement laws which has extremely affected the financial stability of the agency.
The Fund is currently experiencing problems in its cash position due to the failure of the CNMI government to pay its employer’s contribution now totaling $30.1 million.
Mr. Torres also cited the excessive withdrawals of employees’ contributions from 1996 to 1999 which led the Fund to pay out refunds amounting to $20 million.
“In many cases, employees were allowed to resign for the sole purpose of withdrawing their contributions, then rehired shortly thereafter. This is not right and could have been mitigated if the rehiring policy was not so laxly applied,” Mr. Torres said in his letter to House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial.
The Fund hopes to get a lump sum payment from the Department of Finance with the recent $30 million loan agreement it entered into with the Bank of Guam.
Since he assumed the post as the Fund’s administrator, Mr. Torres said he has been working with the staff in identifying areas which needs improvement on the current retirement statutes that have allowed erosion of the Fund’s assets. As soon as they have listed down the areas, the Fund will meet with the Legislature to discuss proposed changes to help the agency.