3 retirees get over $100K

One government retiree in the CNMI receives $162,000 in pension a year or $6,750 every two weeks, which is more than what most retirees receive in one year.

Most retirees receive a minimum of $6,000 a year, or $500 a month.

NMI Retirement Fund administrator Karl Reyes declined to identify the highest paid retiree. He also refused to reveal the person’s former occupation in the government, citing privacy rights.

“The only information I could say is that there’s one who is getting $162,000. Yes, I know it’s quite high but that’s the person’s earned benefits,” said Reyes in a recent interview.

He also said that “a couple of people are getting over $100,000 and some are getting close to $100,000.”

This means that some retirees are receiving pensions that are even higher than the CNMI governor’s salary, which is at $70,000 a year, or heads of government agencies, who are usually paid $70,000 to $80,000.

Only medical doctors at the Commonwealth Health Center and justices and judges receive more than $100,000 as salary per year.

For instance, recent documents showed that Public Health Secretary Dr. James U. Hofschneider receives a salary of $140,000; Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan receives $130,000; and presiding judge Robert C. Naraja, $123,000.

The NMI Retirement Fund, which celebrates this month its 25th year anniversary, has 2,000 retiree members.

Every pay period, the Fund releases $1.1 million for the retirees’ compensation or over $26 million a year.

Just recently, the government released $687,686 for the retirees’ cost of living allowance for 2005. COLA is paid on top of the retirees’ pension. The Fund said that there are 1,303 retirees who are eligible to receive COLA this year. COLA, which is at 2.7 percent of the retirees’ pension, is given to those who are 55 years old and above.

The government said that it is the first time after several years that COLA is paid directly 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’ contribution to pay off retirees’ pension.