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Audit of city pension records forces retroactive payments, pension board and city promise quick follow‑up
Summary
Empower briefed council and pension boards on a recalculation of participants’ retirement benefits after an audit found prior record‑keeping and classification errors. Some retirees received lump‑sum make‑whole payments; reductions were applied prospectively and council and pension boards said they would not seek recoupment from retirees.
Empower, the city’s pension recordkeeper, told the council and pension‑board chairs on Sept. 3 that a routine audit of pension records and plan‑document alignment found inconsistencies in how earnings were classified and in the application of an average‑monthly‑earnings calculation used to establish benefit levels.
David Papalardo, vice president and lead actuary at Empower, said the company discovered non‑pensionable earnings had been included in prior benefit calculations and that an amendment to plan definitions required a month‑by‑month breakdown rather than a calendar‑year approach. Correcting those issues led to benefit adjustments: 62 retirees saw increases and 44 saw decreases across the three city plans. Empower said underpaid retirees received lump‑sum retroactive payments plus credited interest; decreases were applied prospectively and, following pension‑board counsel guidance, the boards are not seeking recoupment of overpayments.
Captain Steve Brick, chairman of the police pension board, urged urgency and criticized the time it took to identify and correct the problem. Brick said concerns about record storage and changes in payroll cadence contributed to the errors and asserted that Empower and the prior recordkeeper should have acted faster. Pension board leaders said they would keep retirees informed, scheduled special board sessions to finalize remaining steps and have retained additional counsel to assist the boards and city on legal questions.
No council action was required other than to receive the briefing. Councilors asked to be kept apprised of scheduling for the special pension‑board meeting and for timelines on remaining corrections and payments.
Speakers quoted include: Morris Jackson, relationship manager at Empower (project lead), David Papalardo (actuary, Empower), Captain Steve Brick (police pension chair) and Mark Fry (fire pension chair).
