A Two-Year Budget Proposal But No Funding For 'Elephant in the Room' G.E.R.S., Senators Bemoan
VIRGIN ISLANDS -- Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory on Thursday said the lack of funding in Governor Albert Bryan's latest budget proposal for the Government Employees' Retirement System was “the elephant in the room," and that it is the responsibility of all branches of government to save the system from going insolvent.
Ms. Frett-Gregory, speaking during the budget overview hearing, stated, “We are in a prime position scheduled to receive almost $600 million dollars in [American Rescue Plan] funds, and the 2022 budget that was submitted to the Legislature, our primary focus is on utilizing our general funds revenue for the most part to address government operations, but we have not in this budget made any reference to how we are going to deal with the elephant in the room. And the elephant in the room of course is the Government Employees' Retirement System.”
She further explained, “It is our responsibility, it is the Legislature's responsibility as well as the executive branch's responsibility to ensure that we do what we have to do to stave off insolvency."
According to U.S. rating agency Moody, G.E.R.S. will likely collapse in 2023 after depleting assets and be forced to cut retirees' benefits by 50 percent, a move that the firm said is unthinkable politically and instead would be the driving force of a government debt default and restructuring.
Read more: https://viconsortium.com/vi-gers/virgin-islands-no-gers-funding-in-budget-elephant-in-the-room-