New law limits how much money the state can reclaim from retirees it accidentally overpaid
A new law will limit how quickly the state can recover money from retirees it overpaid. The law is a response to a 5 On Your Side investigation that found North Carolina Treasurer’s Office mistakenly overpaid millions of dollars of retirement money to recipients for decades.
The Department of State Treasurer told WRAL 5 On Your Side that it manages $114 billion through the Retirement System Division. WRAL News’ investigation found the overpayments totaled approximately $6 million and went unnoticed for years.
Once the mistake was identified, 41 retirees were ordered to pay back the debt, according to the treasurer’s office. Individual recipients, on average, owed $146,341.46.
To repay that money, some families went into debt or even bankruptcy.
The new law does not change the treasurer’s policy of taking back any money owed, but it limits the amount of money they can take from a person’s monthly pension to 25 percent.
The audit, revocation of benefits and recoupment all happened under current State Treasurer Dale Folwell. He declined an interview with WRAL 5 On Your Side.
