LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A handful of Nebraska public school employees have not paid into the state's pension fund when they should have, and one worker improperly collected retirement benefits while continuing to work for a district, according to a new state audit.
Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley said Wednesday that the cases were isolated. But he said his auditors see similar flaws each year when they review the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems.
"We look for that kind of thing when we do this each year," he said. "It does occur from time to time. They're isolated, but they're the kind of thing we look for. It wouldn't shock me to find them again next year. There are a lot of moving parts, a lot of people participating in these plans."
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The annual state audit tested 38 school employees from 12 randomly selected districts. It found that one employee, whose name was not released, received $33,280 in retirement benefit payouts through February, while collecting a regular paycheck from a school district. Five others did not contribute to the fund as required, and two did not begin contributing as early as they should have been.
The audited pension fund covers school district employees, judges, and members of the Nebraska State Patrol.
Phyllis Chambers, the agency's director, said state officials who oversee the pension fund have worked with auditors. She said the agency relies on payroll information supplied by the state's 276 public school districts and its internal auditor. Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems oversees the retirement funds of nearly 40,000 school employees statewide. The only public district that does not participate is Omaha Public Schools, which oversees a separate employee retirement plan.
Chambers said the audits find discrepancies every year.
"When we find them, we try to correct if we can," she said.
In a written response to auditors, agency officials said they had strengthened their review procedures for the state's 276 public school districts and reduced the number of unresolved issues.
The audit found that 10 out of the 27 problems discovered in last year's audit were not fully resolved, including $13,750 in ineligible payments to retirees. The audit found that the agency still hasn't been reimbursed for $13,300 in overpayments from death benefits.
Foley said the discrepancies were caused by "the complexity of so many different participants in the retirement plans."
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