Raleigh man's retirement dreams vanish when state's miscalculation leads to $241,000 debt

Описание: Years after he retired, Joseph Glenn was ordered to pay the state back for their error in calculating his retirement benefits. The state overpaid Glenn for 17 years, ending his comfortable retirement. The Department of State Treasurer mistakenly overpaid millions of dollars of retirement money to recipients for decades. Now the state wants that money back.
The error, which plummeted dozens of families into debt, was made public after one family called WRAL's Keely Arthur for help.

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. Joseph Glenn is one of the many victims. He was born in 1939. His wife, Penny Glenn, told 5 On Your Side that he was illiterate, but what he lacked in formal education he made up for in work ethic.

"I’ve seen him knee deep or more, cold, icy, water repairing water mains," Penny said. "He would work day and night."

He retired from the City of Raleigh in 1996, where he worked as a heavy machinery operator. For years, the Glenns received letters from the State Treasurer’s Retirement Systems Division reassuring them that their monthly payout was correct. Then in 2018, the Glenns received another letter, which turned their lives upside down. It told the Glenns the state had overpaid them hundreds of dollars each month. The error went unnoticed by the state for 17 years. When the mistake was finally caught, the state told the Glenns they owed $241,181.19.

"I read him the letter. We looked at each other and broke down and started crying,” said Penny. "He said 'baby, what am I going to do? I can’t pay back $241,000. I didn’t even know they were overpaying.'"

The letter explained that their benefits should’ve been reduced in February of 2001, when Joseph turned 62. The Glenns were enrolled in a Social Security Leveling plan. The plan gave them a higher monthly payout prior to Joseph's 62nd birthday. When Joseph turned 62, his payout was supposed to drop and be supplemented by social security. But the payment was never reduced. In an interview with 5 On Your Side, we asked Treasurer Dale Folwell how families could possibly know their payout was incorrect, when they were reassured through letters from the treasurer’s office that their payouts were correct.

"That’s a great point, but the dates that you mentioned are called 'pre-Dale' because I wasn’t the treasurer then," Folwell said.

According to the letters, the error was made in February of 2001. Treasurer Richard Moore was in the office at the time.

Folwell also disclosed other instances of over and underpayments. Folwell told 5 On Your Side that he had no choice but to recoup the overpayments.

"We sent underpayments out immediately and stretched overpayments out as much as possible," Folwell said.

The Glenns were ordered to pay back all the money. Their monthly benefit was reduced to around $250 a month to compensate for the error. The Glenns were also told that the state would seize any tax returns to repay the debt.
Full Story: https://www.wral.com/we-could-never-p...

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