A newly released audit says the state Teachers' Retirement Board, or TRB, oversees $14 billion in assets but has some serious shortfalls when it comes to keeping track of its money.
The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters have been tracking the situation since the spring, when auditors first put out an alert that the fund was having problems finding and paying beneficiaries.
The state TRB manages pensions, and in some cases, health benefits for thousands of people who have taught in Connecticut classrooms.
A recent state audit says the people in charge of the funds need to do their homework and learn better accounting procedures.
The state auditor’s findings report that the TRB had a “severe lack of management oversight” of its retiree health fund less than a year ago, resulting in a multimillion-dollar discrepancy.
Auditors also criticized the TRB for failing to tell beneficiaries of deceased retirees that they were due the remaining portion of the retirees’ pensions, in one case amounting to $200,000.
The TRB also admitted to auditors it was doing a poor job of keeping track of accounts payable and receivable, and in some cases retirees who died received pension benefits after their death, according to the report.
The TRB responded in the audit saying it is understaffed, but trying to solve these issues.
It now has subscribed to a people finding service to locate the survivors of retirees who have passed, among other moves.
