Upgrade of Retirement Fund computer system
posted 7/18/05
MISSA reached again another milestone on July 18, 2005 when the upgraded (Fox Pro) version of its Retirement Fund and Benefits computer system was officially put in place and made operational.
The new software was the brainchild of the Social Security Administrators of the Republic of Palau (ROP), FSM and the Marshall Islands. It started more than two years ago, when Greg Ngirmang, SS Administrator of Palau, through the Technical Assistance Division Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of Interior, started soliciting proposals from qualified computer programmers to design, develop and implement an upgrade and modernization of the Social Security Software Program.
This program was designed and placed in operation more than a decade ago initially by RMI, then FSM in the late 1990s, and ROP in late 2000. Being obsolete, its system architecture is outdated and it runs the risk of encountering difficulty operating on the next generation of modern day computers.
The Technical Assistance Division Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of Interior provided a $215,000 grant for the purpose of upgrading and modernizing this software for all three entities. The grant also includes a budget of $55,000 for hardware to be shared equally by the three SS systems.
After reviewing the responses to the Request for Proposal (RFPs) from several computer professionals, the three SS Administrators unanimously awarded the contract to White Coconut Computers, a Saipan based IT consultancy owned by Donna White, and Jill Derickson, an independent IT Consultant. Coincidentally, Donna White is also the programmer responsible for the development of the old software. The duo’s knowledge and familiarity with the old system (visual fox pro) made them the best and most ideal candidates.
By the end of 2004, the design, coding, integration, testing and documentation were completed. To ensure that the individual needs of the three SS systems were identified and the flaws of the old system rectified, a two week beta testing and orientation was held in Saipan in January of this year. Four MISSA representatives participated in the training. 
In mid-2005, the Social Security System of Palau was the first to receive the full installation of the new system, to be followed by MISSA in July and FSM in August 2005. Under the old system, three separate and independent programs shared files: Cash receipting, Reporting, Delinquent Employer Tracking & Reporting and Social Security Maintenance. With the new system in place, these three programs are now fully integrated. Another feature of the new system is that manual data-entry is minimized, thereby significantly reducing human errors in encoding.
The new system will also make a very significant impact in MISSA’s documentation of tax delinquencies. Under the old system, each Tax Officer had to prepare manually a spreadsheet for each employer assigned to him or her, in order to establish a record of the total taxes paid, the quarters and years the payments were applied, and the total tax arrears due. With the new system in place, updating of individual employer transactions is now automated.
MISSA also plans to circulate pre-formatted and system generated letters showing the wage history of each contributor to the system. This will give detailed information about how many quarters have already been credited to the wage earner. This will also help to determine whether his or her present and former employers have remitted his or her contributions.
Donna White and Jill Derickson will be spending at least three weeks with MISSA Managers and Staff to ensure the success and efficiency of the new system.