Pension board to probe member
A question of whether allegations to legislators of corruption went too far
SANTA FE — The board overseeing New Mexico’s $18 billion pension fund for state employees has launched a formal investigation into whether one of its members went too far by sending a letter to a legislative oversight committee that contained wideranging corruption allegations.
The letter was sent by Public Employees Retirement Association board member Loretta Naranjo Lopez shortly after the board voted — over her objection — last month to hire Greg Trujillo as the pension fund’s new executive director.
It expressed opposition to a legislative proposal to overhaul the PERA board structure, while also leveling claims — without citing evidence — that state Treasurer Tim Eichenberg likely got a bribe for backing the new executive director and that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office helps “criminals” avoid oversight by influencing board members.
In response to the letter, which was obtained by the Journal, acting PERA board chairman Francis Page appointed a threemember committee to investigate Naranjo Lopez’s actions, saying her conduct “calls into question” whether she failed to fulfill her fiduciary duties as a board member and violated ethical standards.
The ad hoc committee held its first meeting this week and is expected to recommend by mid-January whether Naranjo Lopez should be removed from the PERA board, sanctioned or face no disciplinary action.
During the initial meeting of the investigative committee, Naranjo Lopez said the panel violates anti-retaliation rules and said her claims were truthful.
“This investigative committee has conflicts of interest, including the board, so I would ask for an independent investigation and a hearing officer,” she said.
Naranjo Lopez, an Albuquerque resident who has served on the PERA board since 2005, also questioned how the PERA board had obtained the letter.
Meanwhile, the committee is being led by PERA board member Claudia Armijo, a state Treasurer’s Office employee, who vowed the investigation would be impartial and objective.
The PERA board has been a familiar setting for rancor in recent years, with actions including investigations into board member travel, lawsuits and debate over snacks during board meetings.
The infighting has occurred amid long-running solvency concerns for the pension fund that covers more than 47,000 state workers, police officers and judges, and paid retirement benefits to roughly 42,700 retirees during the budget year that ended in June.
State lawmakers have approved several fixes aimed at shoring up the retirement system, including a 2020 bill that temporarily froze cost-of-living adjustments for some retirees, and required public workers and government agencies to pay more into the system.