A recent audit by the Auditors of Public Accounts has identified multiple issues with the management of Connecticut state retirement funds. The report, covering fiscal years 2020 through 2023, flags improperly calculated benefits for four judges and notes instances where employees were assigned to incorrect retirement tiers.
Beyond these calculation errors, auditors reported delays in finalizing retirement benefits for 15 cases. Some of these delays stretched over several years, with one retiree waiting eight months for pension payments. The audit points to a lack of oversight and reliance on inaccurate employment data as primary drivers for these findings.
In its formal response, the Office of the State Comptroller challenged several of the audit conclusions. Officials stated that many of the cited discrepancies were minimal, with some adjustments totaling less than 25 dollars. The Comptroller noted that most errors stemmed from outdated information provided by the Judicial Branch, data that the office no longer uses.
Addressing the delays in finalizing benefits, the Comptroller explained that disability cases often require extensive review by the Medical Examining Board, which impacts processing timelines. The office maintains that it has cleared a significant backlog of over 13,000 cases since 2017 and has implemented additional training for human resources staff to improve enrollment accuracy.