Audit Report on Non-Pedagogical Pensioners of the New York City Department of Education Working for the City after Retirement

Audit Report In Brief

The objective of this audit was to identify New York City pensioners who may be reemployed by a City agency and illegally collecting a pension from the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS)—known as “double-dippers” or “disability violators”—and to quantify the amounts of any improper payments to individuals who appear to be violators of New York State Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) §211 and §212, or New York City Charter §1117 during calendar year 2006.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

The audit found that five pensioners received $45,492 in pension payments during 2006 that appear to violate applicable sections of State and City laws.  These individuals were in apparent violation of RSSL §211 or §212 because they were under age 65 and received City wages exceeding the limitations without having a waiver on file, or were in violation of §1117 of the New York City Charter because they were collecting disability pensions while earning more than $1,800 (including pension payments) a year at a New York City agency.

Audit Recommendations

The audit made four recommendations that BERS officials should:

• Investigate the individual identified as receiving a pension while being reemployed in public service.  BERS officials should also commence prompt recoupment action against this individual if he is found to be illegally collecting a pension.
• Forward to the Department of Investigation, if the circumstances warrant such action, the name of this individual if he is found to be illegally collecting a pension.
• Ascertain whether previous pension overpayments have been recouped and whether current pensions have been suspended for those individuals who have been cited in previous audits as “double-dippers” or “disability violators.”
• Send special reminders to service retirees under the age of 65 and to all disability retirees that clearly state their responsibilities regarding public service reemployment.