AGO asked to review rule on OT, comptime

The NMI Retirement Fund has asked the Attorney General’s Office to issue a legal opinion whether overtime and compensatory time can be factored in when computing a member’s length of credited service for retirement .

NMIRF Administrator Juan S. Torres has expressed concern on the continued practice which he said may have “catastrophic financial impact” on the Fund if not immediately resolved.

According to the benefit analysis conducted by the Fund, overtime and compensatory time, upon meeting the required hours per annum, were being added-on to compute the member’s total work service credit.

A considerable number of retirees have been granted credited service already by the Fund, Mr. Torres said.

“This may open a whole can of worms because there will be many who may not be eligible to retire or who are receiving a higher annuity payment,” he added.

Mr. Torres has sought the assistance of the AGO even before the Office of the Public Auditor issued a report ordering two former officials of the Commonwealth Ports Authority to return close to $127,000 in improper retirement payments.

The two officials who allegedly inflate their leave and compensatory time credits to receive higher pension were not qualified to receive early retirement benefits.

In fact, the OPA asked the Fund to calculate and adjust the pension benefits of all other members by disregarding overtime and compensatory time hours that were considered as additional credited service.

“The problem here is how to unravel this mess while preventing the least disruption on the economic lives of these people, it will certainly be a monumental task to begin to resolve,” according to Mr. Torres.

As administrator of the Fund, Mr. Torres said it is his responsibility to make sure that the agency’s financial stability is maintained for the benefit of its members.

This early, the Fund has been experiencing problems as a result of the increase in number of employees who are seeking a refund of their contribution to the agency.

Mr. Torres has even asked Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio not to take back those employees if they want to return to civil service to discourage people from leaving government service early.

In 1996, over $20 million was refunded by the Fund to its members and $5.5 million in 1999.
Mr. Torres has expressed alarm on the destabilizing effect to the financial condition of the Fund if a huge number of employees would seek a refund all at the same time. Under the present set-up, only those who have rendered less than 10 years in government service can still take back their contribution to the Fund.