Nebraska auditors say the state has been sending retirement checks to people who are no longer living. The money comes from the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems. The audit looked at payments distributed to school employees, judges and the state patrol. The state auditor found 11 cases of retirement benefit payouts to people who have died. The earliest dates back to 2012 and the money paid out totals more than $275,000.”We did a lot of death benefit testing because that’s a significant area where there’s risk for fraud and abuse,” Deputy Auditor Craig Kubicek said.Kubicek said in one case of potential fraud, they found a person who died in 2014. Payments continued until 2021, totaling more than $100,000.”I deal with fraud on a daily basis,” said Kubicek. “And there’s always like, ‘Geez, how did this fall through?'”To help close those cracks, the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems is outsourcing its death benefit testing to a new vendor.”We have made improvements, actually, on what our processes are and we are going to continue to look at what we can do more for these processes,” said NPERS Director Randy Gerke.Gerke said the new vendor found the $100,000 on its first round of checks. That case is now under law enforcement investigation with the Nebraska attorney general. He added that the new vendor is doing death benefit checks every week, whereas the former vendor did so every couple of months.”It’s tough to catch all of the people that die,” said Gerke. “We pay many, many people every month, and not all of them have obituaries.”Looking at obituaries is part of the retirement system’s method for ending benefits when someone dies. Now, the state auditor recommends going straight to the source of death certificates — DHHS.”That’s part of the recommendation, is to get them to work together,” said Kubicek. “Because right now, there really is not a working relationship.”
Nebraska auditors say the state has been sending retirement checks to people who are no longer living. The money comes from the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems.
The audit looked at payments distributed to school employees, judges and the state patrol. The state auditor found 11 cases of retirement benefit payouts to people who have died. The earliest dates back to 2012 and the money paid out totals more than $275,000.
“We did a lot of death benefit testing because that’s a significant area where there’s risk for fraud and abuse,” Deputy Auditor Craig Kubicek said.
Kubicek said in one case of potential fraud, they found a person who died in 2014. Payments continued until 2021, totaling more than $100,000.
“I deal with fraud on a daily basis,” said Kubicek. “And there’s always like, ‘Geez, how did this fall through?'”
To help close those cracks, the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems is outsourcing its death benefit testing to a new vendor.
“We have made improvements, actually, on what our processes are and we are going to continue to look at what we can do more for these processes,” said NPERS Director Randy Gerke.
Gerke said the new vendor found the $100,000 on its first round of checks. That case is now under law enforcement investigation with the Nebraska attorney general. He added that the new vendor is doing death benefit checks every week, whereas the former vendor did so every couple of months.
“It’s tough to catch all of the people that die,” said Gerke. “We pay many, many people every month, and not all of them have obituaries.”
Looking at obituaries is part of the retirement system’s method for ending benefits when someone dies. Now, the state auditor recommends going straight to the source of death certificates — DHHS.
“That’s part of the recommendation, is to get them to work together,” said Kubicek. “Because right now, there really is not a working relationship.”
