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COLA check covers only up to May payment
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Posted on Oct 06 2005
The initial check released for the retirees’ cost of living allowance covers only nine payments from January to May 15, 2005, according to the NMI Retirement Fund yesterday.
Fund administrator Karl T. Reyes said that additional money would be coming in to pay off the COLA for the rest of the year.
He earlier said that the amount due eligible retirees this year totals $867,000.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta authorized Tuesday the release of $687,686 for COLA payment. This will reportedly cover the payments for 1,303 retirees.
Babauta said it is the first time after several years that the government is getting the COLA payment from the General Fund.
The Fund said that since 1998, it stopped receiving COLA remittances from the $2 million appropriation through Public Law 8-31.
P. L. 8-31, which was enacted in 1994, mandates the release of $2 million a year for three items: retirees’ COLA, special annuity for the past governors and lieutenant governors, and life and health insurance programs.
In the absence of such appropriation, the Fund said that it was using the active members’ contributions to pay off retirees’ pension.
The Department of Finance formally presented the initial COLA check amounting to $687,686 to Fund officials yesterday during a press briefing on the power situation at the Multi-Purpose Center.
Present in the turnover of the check were Finance Secretary Fermin M. Atalig, Gov. Babauta, Fund board chair Joseph Reyes and Fund administrator Karl T. Reyes.
COLA, which is now up at 2.7 percent, is given annually to retirees aged 55 years and older.
The Fund said a retiree receives a minimum of $6,000 pension to as high as $162,000 a year.
The present law does not set a maximum level of pension payment.
Every pay period, the Fund releases $1.1 million for the retirees’ compensation or over $26 million a year.
