The Government Employee Retirement System needs to realize a greater return on its investments or raise the employee contributions to avoid serious financial shortages down the line.
While there is enough money in the coffers to cover current pensions, there is not enough to take care of the retirees yet to come. With 11,000 government employees who can retire at age 50 after 10 years of service, the retirement system needs to develop a plan that will provide enough money for future retirees, according to Howard Rog, vice president and actuary with
Segal Advisors Inc.
Rog was on St. Thomas this week to report on the GERS portfolio, according to Friday's Daily News.
The retirement fund, which has $1.02 billion in it, has $332 million available for
investment. Orin Graves, a colleague of Rog’s who is also in St. Thomas, said the investments yielded a return that was about 20 percent lower than the industry standard.
Graves attributed part of that to V.I. legislation that limits the amount to half of the fund that can be invested in equities.
Graves said GERS needs to diversify its investments. He suggested investing in European markets and increased investment in high-yield capital stocks.