Comptroller reveals payments by the Retirement Board of $2.7 million to deceased pensioners.
The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) issued a qualified opinion of the operations of the computerized information systems of the Retirement Board of the Government of Puerto Rico. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Retirement Board made pension payments of $2.7 million in favor of 57 deceased pensioners between 2013 and 2021. These 57 pensioners represent those who had received payments for six months or more since their death.
The Report of Deceased Cases with Debt as of May 2023 reflected that the Board had not recovered $2.6 million of the payments issued to 56 deceased persons. As of January 4, 2024, the Board had recovered $388,972 from 12 deceased persons and a total of $2.2 million remained pending recovery. This situation decreases the funds available and may cause unauthorized persons to appropriate the payments to deceased pensioners. A similar situation had been commented on May 7, 2014, in Audit Report RF-14-09.
The Report recommends that the Division of Services to Pensioners establish internal controls that expedite the identification of deceased pensioners and that collection efforts be made with the banking entities, cooperatives, beneficiaries, or heirs, as applicable.
The two-finding audit notes that, as of October 3, 2022, the Report of Delinquent Loans reflected a portfolio of 35,033 loans with payment arrears of $89.1 million. From the examination of a sample of the 33,788 loans administered by the Retirement Board, 1,064 loans with debt of $2 million were identified without referrals for garnishment of contributions.
In addition, the audit publishes multiple failures in the collection efforts of delinquent loans. For example, in 23 loans classified as personal, cultural, and prompt home payment, collection letters were not issued, or second or third collection letters were not issued, or additional collection efforts were not made. These failures increase the likelihood of not being able to recover the money owed to the Board.
The fiscal year 2021 budget of the Retirement Board was $75.5 million, and it decreased to $65.5 million in 2022 and to $59.2 million in 2023.
This second and final report covers the period from September 1, 2013 to June 16, 2023.
Audit Report OC-25-47 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr.
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