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Pa. Treasury fixes overpayment to thousands of retirees, vendors

HARRISBURG, Pa. – A computer glitch is at the center of what could have been a multi-million dollar blunder by the state’s Treasury department. Last...

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A computer glitch is at the center of what could have been a multi-million dollar blunder by the state's Treasury department.

Last week, the system mistakenly sent two payments instead of one to thousands of retirees and vendors, totaling around $400 million.

"The computer system froze, and when it was restarted, it transmitted two payment files," Doug Rohanna, with the Pennsylvania Treasury department, said.

Fortunately for the state, Treasury officials caught on to the mistake and sent a corrective withdrawal, reversing many of the extra payments, and now they are working to get back any leftover extra money they paid out.

The State Employee Retirement System estimates about 16,000 retirees got duplicate payments, but most got the withdrawal as well, SERS spokeswoman Pam Hile told Fox 43.

"The recipients saw both the duplicate payment as well as the correction at the very same time," Rohanna added.

Of that number, SERS only knows of two retirees whose duplicate payment had not been withdrawn as of Tuesday afternoon, Hile said.

"We don't ever like to make mistakes, but everyone is working diligently to correct the matter and work with our partners to account for these funds," Rohanna said. "We take that job very seriously."

The total amount that remains outstanding remains unknown, and will be subject to review by the Auditor General.

If you received a duplicate payment, you are asked to contact the state agency that handles your payment arrangements.

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