Dead But Still on the Payroll

Deceased city employees in Cincinatti may continue to receive retirement checks well after their death.  A recent Cincinatti.com article reports that poor managment of the system has resulted in investigations in at least 18 cases of payments to dead people, including the following:

A city retiree on a disability pension since the late 1970s who died in March 2000, but continued to receive monthly checks until June 2005, resulting in a $41,345 overpayment by the city.

A deceased city employee’s beneficiary who died in March 2006, but received $18,067 in improper payments through July 2008.

Another beneficiary who received checks for 19 months after her December 2006 death, four of which – totaling $5,034 – apparently were cashed by her guardian. In addition to examining the precise details about the cashed checks, investigators have concluded that the city needs to collect and stop payment on checks totaling $19,696.

In one case, pension checks for a retiree who died in October 2007 continued to go to his spouse through June 2008. The following month, after her husband’s name showed up on a death report, she began receiving a reduced pension – even though she had died two months earlier.

Barry M. Horstman, Dead city worker kept getting check, Cincinatti.com, June 8, 2009.