Internal Controls Can Be Improved To Help Ensure Proper and Correct Military Retirement Payments

Gao ID: AFMD-84-7 February 28, 1984

GAO reviewed the retirement pay systems of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to determine whether internal controls are in effect to ensure proper and correct payments to retirees and their families.

The military services maintain independent payroll systems to pay and administer benefits to military retirees and survivors. GAO found that there is a need for the military services to improve internal controls to help ensure that: (1) the Navy and Marine Corps place only authorized persons on their payrolls; (2) payments by the military services continue only if recipients retain their eligibility for such payments; and (3) payments by the military services are not made to deceased persons. Furthermore, GAO reported that military retirees have received overpayments because: (1) required offsets to military retirement pay were not made when the retirees entered the federal civil service; and (2) Veterans Administration compensation was not deducted from military retirement benefits.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: John F. Simonette Team: General Accounting Office: Accounting and Financial Management Division Phone: (202) 275-9490


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