American Samoa Government Employee Retirement Fund (ASGERF) Office Executive Director, I’aulualo Talia Fa’afetai has kept his word —  when he first took the position of the Office’s director he said they would be auditing the benefits distribution account to determine if there are discrepancies. Responding to Samoa News queries about whether or not the Retirement Office has completed this process, I’aulualo said they are still working and there are certain issues for which they are seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s office prior to making another move.

I’aulualo also confirmed that there are retirees who have been informed that calculations of their retirement benefits are off and the ASGERF will be making adjustments. The Executive Director refused to give an exact number of retirees who have been informed.

However, according to a letter leaked to Samoa News, the ASGERF Office has found out that their former attorney, Faoa Aitofele Sunia’s retirement check has been overpaid since 2014. This was uncovered following the review of his benefit records.

As a result, according to the letter, Faoa’s monthly benefit check will be reduced by $985.76, and his monthly benefit check will be reduced down to $3,712.37 per month before taxes and other deductions, effective on his November 15, 2016 benefits check.

The letter is dated October 25, 2016 and is signed by the ASGERF Executive Director, and says, “Our office has initiated and implemented file review on our benefits account to test the accuracy of information and retiree benefit calculations.

“Through this process, we have completed the review of your benefit records and have discovered that there were discrepancies in the calculation of your benefit payments.

“As a result, your monthly annuities have been overpaid to you since March 2014 by $985.76 more a month, which according to our calculation has created an account receivable to the fund in the total amount of $31,544.32,” I’aulualo says in his letter.

Faoa is urged to contact the ASGERF Benefits Manager Doreen Amituana’i to discuss the details of his case and make arrangements to resolve this account receivable, the letter says.

During a phone interview with I’aulualo last weekend he said that Faoa is not the only retiree who is affected as there have been several letters sent out to other retirees informing them of the adjustments that will be made to their monthly retirement checks. The Fund’s Executive Director refused to divulge the names of the retirees and declined to go into details of the matter but confirmed that they are still in the process of going through all of the retirees benefits for recalculation.

Faoa is a former Retirement board member who was later hired as the fund’s legal counsel in 2015. He resigned when he decided to run for gubernatorial office with Larry Sanitoa in the general election earlier this month where he was defeated by incumbent Lolo Matalasi Moliga and Lemanu Peleti Mauga.

Efforts to get comments from Faoa were unsuccessful as of press time.