Outdated records, staffing shortages, and delays in receiving documentation from government agencies have slowed a decade-long audit of the NMI Settlement Fund, according to Trustee Joyce C.H. Tang.
The NMI Settlement Fund was established in 2013 following a federal consent judgment requiring the CNMI government to fulfill its financial obligations to retirees. It replaced the former NMI Retirement Fund after a class-action lawsuit filed by retiree Betty Johnson in 2009 warned the system would become insolvent. The court approved a $779 million settlement to ensure continued payments to eligible members, with Tang appointed as trustee.
In a supplemental report filed in federal court recently, Tang said 783 audits have been completed covering fiscal years 2015 through 2025. Of those, 276 member files were flagged for possible overpayments, while 124 showed potential underpayments totaling $330,000.
Several cases remain under legal review, particularly those involving disputed overtime calculations.
The trustee is working with agencies including the Public School System and Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. to improve access to employment records and plans to hire additional auditors to complete the review.
