Senate Bill to hike contributions for ASGERF clears House

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It’s now up to the Governor if contributions of members and ASG for the Government Employees Retirement Fund would go up.

Yesterday the House passed in final reading a Senate bill which would raise the contribution of members from 3% to 5% of their salary and for ASG as the employer from 8% to 11%.

The bill which has been languishing in committee in the House since March, would help reduce the unfunded liability of the Retirement Fund.

The Fund pays out more than $2 million per month in retirement annuities but collects just over $800,000 from contributions. The balance of $1.2 million is drawn from the Fund’s investment accounts.

Treasurer Malemo Tausaga said at a hearing on the bill in March, ASG paid $5.9 million to the Retirement Fund in Fiscal Year 2020, while member contributions brought in $2.2 million.

For the 3% increase, he estimated that ASG would pay $8.2 million while members would pay $3.2 million. These numbers cover just the roughly 4,000 ASG employees and do not include authorities like LBJ Hospital, ASPA, ASTCA and ASCC.

The bill is being enrolled and sent to the Governor for his review.