Pension Fund Double Dipping Is Detailed

The city has accused 87 retirees of stealing $1 million from its pension system, what may be the latest in a series of pension abuses that have provoked calls for action in Albany.

Over the course of seven audits, the city comptroller's office detailed how retirees worked for government agencies and consulting groups while improperly collecting on their pensions. The audits came a week after state legislators passed laws closing pension loopholes and enacting tougher penalties for abusers.

While the city comptroller, William Thompson Jr., only recently released the audits on what he called "double dipping" into city pay, the state comptroller has been dealing with a wave of publicized abuses this year, most notably involving attorneys hired by school districts who were compensated through the pension system.

"It's been a hot issue," a spokesman for the New York State comptroller's office, Dennis Tompkins, said. "Our biggest concern is protecting the integrity of the pension system, making sure people earning pension credits actually deserve them."

The $1 million in improper payments from the city were made in 2006, the last year for which information was available, according to the city comptroller's office. Nearly half of the 87 people accused were retired police officers, making them heavily overrepresented in audits that covered all five pension funds.

The executive director of the police pension system, Tony Garvey, explained that members of his fund were most likely to show up in audits because their unique investigative skills make them more useful to city agencies after they retire. The offices that hire them do not have to pay for their health insurance or pension benefits, Mr. Garvey noted, as those perks are already being provided.

"When we talk about 'double dippers,' it's essentially a misnomer," he said. "It's a actually a savings in city government. It's a wise way to bring people with advanced skill sets into an agency."

The police fund will investigate the retirees accused of cheating the system, but most of them probably received legal waivers that simply were not filed at the time of the audit, Mr. Garvey said.

The names of the accused retirees were not disclosed, but the reports identified 35 among them who are said to have illegally received disability benefits. The fire department fund was the only one identified as having no members implicated in abuse.