The Government of the V.I. came through Thursday with a payment to the Government Employees Retirement System of almost half a million dollars for the Sept. 30 payroll, but GERS Administrator Austin L. Nibbs appears ready to keep pressure on the V.I. Department of Finance.
Last week Nibbs told the GERS Board of Trustees at its regular meeting he would stick to the letter of the law. The law, according to Nibbs, “requires that all employee and employer contributions must be paid to the GERS before a retiree can receive an initial annuity payment.”
That meant that government employees retiring in October would not receive checks if the V.I. Government did not pay its share to the system before Wednesday, Oct. 10.
In an email to the Source, Nibbs said that after the meeting Thursday GERS received from the Department of Finance $485,959 due for missing employer contributions for the new retirees on the Sept. 30 payroll.
However, he added that missing employer contributions of $696,106 were due for the Oct. 15 retiree payroll. He said this amount must be received by noon Wednesday in order for new retirees to placed on the Oct. 15 payroll. Retirees receive two checks a month – one in the middle of the month and one at the end of the month.
A special meeting of the Board of Trustees has been scheduled at that deadline. The meeting notice sent out Friday said the meeting would be an executive session, in other words, it will be closed to the public.
