Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Benefits Corrections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board reviews correction process after small retirement benefit overpayment
Summary
Trustees were briefed on an instance of retirement benefit overpayment. Staff said the error was identified and corrected within the same fiscal year, auditors and counsel were notified, and procedural changes and third‑party monitoring (JEA) will help prevent recurrence.
The Imperial County Board of Retirement received an update on a recent overpayment of retirement benefits and approved staff’s corrective actions.
A staff member summarized details in a written memo and invited questions. The board discussed whether the overpayment should have been caught by audits; staff said the error fell between last year’s audit and the upcoming audit but was corrected within the same fiscal year and reported to the auditor. “We approached our auditors with what happened,” the staff member said. The staff member also reported consulting the system’s tax attorney, who “didn’t indicate it would be any kind of an issue,” given the corrective steps taken.
Trustees asked about continuity of responsibilities after a staff departure and about who will perform ongoing file verification. Staff said JEA will monitor the employer payroll files and notify ISERS accounting staff of anomalies; an accounting technician has taken on some payroll duties and a county IT/ticketing approach covers other technical tasks. Trustee Suzanne C. Ramirez and others emphasized the need to ensure accrued time and payroll records are accurate for both active and elected trustees.
Trustee Susanna (last name not specified in the transcript) moved to approve staff’s corrective actions and implementation plan; Norma Kaye Howdygui seconded. The motion carried with an “aye” vote and no recorded opposition.
Staff said they had corrected member accounts affected by the error and implemented monitoring steps so corrections would be caught before year‑end going forward.
