A member of the Board of Trustees of the American Samoa Government Employees Retirement Fund (ASGERF), Fuiavailili Keniseli Lafaele, is drawing attention to the effects of President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs on the territory’s economy and Pension Fund.
In what he says is his final open letter to members of the Retirement Fund, Fuiavailili cites data from the Equitable Institute showing that the 25 largest U.S. state and local pension funds lost a combined $169 billion between April 3 and April 8, 2025, due to the president’s tariffs. From January 1 through April 8, public equities’ losses totaled $248.8 billion—not including declines in fixed income and private asset classes. The report also notes that public pension funds now face $1.37 trillion in unfunded liabilities, with an average funded ratio of only 80.2%. As Equitable stated, “The financial market shock of the last few days is exactly the kind of negative scenario that fragile pension funds should be concerned about.”
Fuiavailili says, “Unfortunately, the ASGERF Board and management have not released investment performance reports for FY2024 or the first half of FY2025 to members and stakeholders. Nor have they issued any public statement regarding how recent market volatility, exacerbated by tariff policies, has impacted the Fund’s portfolio.”
He notes that, as of September 30, 2024, 87.2% of the Fund’s assets were allocated to the stock and bond markets. “It is therefore reasonable to assume the Fund’s value has declined since year-end 2024,” he said.
He points out that the Fund’s fragile financial condition magnifies this exposure. As of FY2024, it was only 49% funded—an improvement over the previous year, but still well below sustainability levels. Compounding this, the Fund is owed an estimated $7 to $8 million in outstanding employer and employee contributions. These structural weaknesses raise serious concerns about the Fund’s long-term solvency.
Fuiavailili explains that since October 2024, the Board has failed to convene a single meeting, despite clear requirements in the Fund’s by-laws and statutory mandates. “This inaction reflects a troubling belief among some trustees that ‘meeting with investment managers is the prerogative of the investment advisor.’ Such a mindset reduces trustees to passive observers, ceding direct engagement with managers to the advisor,” he said.
Consequently, the Board missed a critical opportunity to meet with representatives from two Boston-based firms managing 60% of the Fund’s assets—$124.8 million as of FY2024—even though trustees attended the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems Pension Funding Forum held in Boston in August 2024.
The Board member says he is bringing this information to light because he cares about the Fund’s sustainability and the welfare of government workers and their beneficiaries. “I have witnessed how politics, Samoan culture, and internal culture have influenced Fund operations since 2020, and even more so since joining the Board in early 2022. One or two trustees alone cannot overcome the dominance of a chairman who serves as Senate President, aided by his legal counsel,” he said.
“These letters are also written for the current administration to notice and hopefully take action. Whether and how they do so remains to be seen.”
Fuiavailili appeals to the more than 6,000 members of the Retirement Fund to take a stand, to organize, and to form an association of active and retired members and seek legal representation. “You can demand improved governance and long-term security for your retirement fund through unity,” he urges.
Photo: Centennial Building in Utulei, an asset of the ASGERF
