Juan F. Luis Hospital board members said their Government Employees Retirement System payments are up to date. They are just waiting for GERS to update its records.
This information was shared at Wednesday’s JFL Territorial Board meeting.
“They are behind in posting payments”, said acting CFO Shenel Moorehead.
According to Moorehead, in August the hospital processed three checks to GERS totaling slightly more than $3 million. A check totaling $668,308 covered all missed 2017 payments, including the conversion of contracted employees to staff employees. A check of $553,516 was processed to pay off the balances owed for 22 employees who have either already retired or have applied for retirement through January 2019. And a third check, for $1.8 million, covered back payments for 2012 through 2014 invoices.
Moorehead said all 2017 invoices and all 2018 to the current day have been paid in full to GERS.
Moorehead said JFL retired employees and vendors who call GERS seeking an update on their payment status are being told that we have not submitted the payments on their behalf.
“If GERS can post our payment in a timely manner we expect to have all GERS back payment paid in full by the end of this calendar year,” she said, adding that GERS presently has more than $3 million in uncashed checks that were forwarded from the hospital.
In May an attorney for the GERS said a lawsuit against JFL designed to compel its GERS payments was scheduled to begin on May 21. (See Related Links, below.) Board members at that time, voted to pay its pension obligation by contributing 100 percent of a $2.8 million settlement and $9.2 million from a cost-recovery fund.