House retirement panel presses UPR finance director over pension shortfall, demands records

The Commission on Retirement Systems of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives on April 11, 2025 pressed Wilson Crespo Valentín, interim director of finance for the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), for details about a recurring shortfall in employer pension contributions and directed the university to deliver several records within days.

The panel’s questions centered on differences between the university’s current employer contribution (a 30% payroll contribution the administration uses as its estimate, which the Oversight Board certified as about $131,000,000 for fiscal 2024-25) and actuarial recommendations of roughly $155,000,000. "The actuarial study said $155,000,000 and you contributed $120,000,000," Representative Reinaldo Figueroa Acevedo said during questioning. Crespo said the administration paid the Oversight Board-certified line and had made an additional payment in March to close a portion of the gap.

Why this matters: commissioners said the gap—about $30 million per year by their estimate—threatens the retirement system’s long-term solvency, could shift costs to retirees and requires clearer accounting of what UPR has paid, what remains outstanding and what legal exposure the university faces if courts find prior changes illegal.

Key facts and requests - Crespo told the commission he began at the central budget office in June 2023 and that a 30% employer contribution to UPR’s retirement system was included in the approved fiscal 2023-24 budget. He said the Oversight Board later certified a higher line (about $124–131 million in different references) and UPR made additional payments to approach that figure. - Crespo said that after reviewing payroll records through December 2024, the administration approved an extra disbursement of about $4.3 million in March 2025 to help close the gap toward the Oversight Board-certified $131,000,000 for fiscal 2024-25. - Commissioners cited an actuarial study that Crespo said estimates an employer contribution need near $155,000,000 annually; Crespo acknowledged that the actuarial figure is higher than the contribution included in recent budgets and that he did not have the complete historical decision record on who reduced or altered prior contributions. - The commission directed Crespo to deliver: (1) the exact amount UPR owed to the retirement system as of April 11, 2025 (requested delivery: 5 days); (2) the names of the university representatives on the committee overseeing the new 401(k) plan (5 days); and (3) detailed university expenditures on litigation with the retirement system and evidence about a contested payment (related to a prior event identified in testimony) (7 days). Crespo agreed to provide the requested items.

Discussion highlights and concerns Commissioners repeatedly pressed for clarity on whether UPR had met the Oversight Board-certified budget lines. Crespo said the university paid the lines the Oversight Board set for past years (he cited $124 million for fiscal 2023-24) and that for 2024-25 the administration is moving to satisfy the board-certified $131,000,000 contribution. Representatives said they had records and prior testimony suggesting delayed or partial payments in earlier years and said they wanted a precise accounting to put those questions to rest.

Law and budget context Crespo summarized the UPR budget process and cited several statutory and regulatory frameworks the university and the Oversight Board rely on, including the UPR organic statutes referenced in testimony (laws dating to January 20, 1966, as described in the presentation), the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) and a local law referenced by witnesses that provides a $500,000,000 annual allocation to UPR for operations for fiscal 2023–2027. He also noted Act 200 (May 15, 1948, as amended), which directs a share of slot-machine revenues to the university; Crespo said that share has a legal cap and currently yields about $71,000,000.

Litigation, 401(k) rollout and governance questions Panel members raised multiple governance concerns: ongoing lawsuits between UPR and its retirement system; the university’s shift toward a defined-contribution 401(k) option for new employees; turnover in the finance director position at the central office; and whether the Oversight Board or the university’s internal governance ultimately controls budget lines and payments. Crespo acknowledged there are multiple legal cases involving the pension changes and agreed that adverse judicial rulings could force higher university payments.

Commissioner actions and tone Several commissioners expressed frustration with past decisions by UPR governance and the Oversight Board. The commission’s chair pressed Crespo to produce documentation and suggested the legislature may summon additional officials, including the president of UPR’s Board of Governors, to answer questions. Crespo declined to assign blame for prior decisions that predated his tenure but committed to provide the requested records.

Background and next steps Crespo provided the commission with a document labeled "Memorial de Presupuesto Enmendado 2024-25" (dated Aug. 29, 2024) and described timelines for payroll reconciliation and budget certification. The commission closed the hearing after listing deadlines for the records it requested; members said they would use the documents to evaluate whether the university met its legal and budgetary obligations and to determine any further legislative steps.

No formal votes or final rulings were taken at this hearing. The commission recorded multiple follow-up requests to the university finance office; Crespo agreed to deliver specific figures and lists within the timeframes requested by commissioners.