A proposal to award about $1.3 million in performance bonuses to 12 Retirement and Investment Office employees took a step forward Tuesday after legality questions were answered.
The bonuses reward staff for outperforming their revenue benchmarks by more than $191 million across four state investment funds, including the Legacy Fund. According to extensive reporting by of the North Dakota Monitor, seven bonuses are more than $100,000, the largest being more than $293,000. These bonuses will be up for vote at the State Investment Board’s January meeting.
The board sought to approve the funding in November, but the process was delayed due to questions about legal authority. Performance-based pay is permitted under a 2023 state law, but it doesn’t explicitly authorize the office to provide bonuses. The agency received verbal approval from the Attorney General’s Office that they could safely proceed.
Governor Armstrong has expressed reservations about the bonus program in the past, saying he believes employees care more about base pay than potential bonuses. He said the Investment Board will likely revisit the policy, but he doesn’t want to take away promised pay.
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