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Benefits December 15, 2008
TN County Accused of Delaying Retirement Contribution Deposits
December 15, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Knox County,
Tennessee, employee filed suit against the county government
in an attempt to recover lost interest from years of delayed
pension fund deposits.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Barbara Cook first raised her concerns with the Knox County Pension Board in April after she found that deductions from employees’ bi-monthly paychecks took 24 days on average to be deposited into retirement accounts.
According to the suit, the contributions, which often total millions of dollars, were commingled with the Knox County general funds until the deposits were made, allowing the county to accrue short-term interest. The suit seeks to recover that interest on behalf of all pension fund enrollees, the news report said.
The suit does not estimate the total interest sought, and only says the problem was allowed to persist “over a period of years.” It does recognize that employee deductions now are deposited within a week.