The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Retirement Fund is suspending refunds to its members in an effort to revive it.
In a unanimous vote yesterday the Fund's board of trustees adopted a resolution to stop the payment of contribution refunds to members from September the 1st.
This means members who want to opt out of the Fund should do so by the end of August but it will still be subject to the board's approval.
Our correspondent, Mark Rabago, says the board also disclosed that the Fund is now only 39-percent funded as the government hasn't been paying its proper contribution.
He says it has consistently failed to reach a level of 50-percent since fiscal year 2000.
"The way it would impact is at least it would give the Fund more money to work with and would give the Fund better chances of trying to recover."
Mark Rabago says the local economy isn't in good shape and the Fund's investments aren't doing as well either in the global recession.
