1 Sep 2010

Actuary report shows American Samoa's Governor's retirement schemes won't work

1:39 pm on 1 September 2010

Officials looking after American Samoa's public service retirement fund say it can't afford to pay cash incentives to employees retiring early.

Governor Togiola Tulafono says offering long term government employees up to 20 thousand US dollars to retire early will enable college graduates to get work in the government.

A bill supporting his plan's been through its first reading in the territory's House of Representatives.

But our correspondent in Pago Pago Monica Miller says an actuary report on the ASG Retirement Fund reveals every penny counts.

"They're already spending a sizeable amount on retirement contributions without this add-on pressure. They're saying that because of the way the economy went in 2008 that there were a significant amount of losses. At the same time there's no real positive picture on the horizon."

Our correspondent in American Samoa Monica Miller.