FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
More than 23,000 Defense Department employees, including 2,100 from the Defense Logistics Agency, over- or under-paid into their retirement funds.
The good news: DLA Human Resources has already contacted impacted DLA employees and is helping resolve any problems, said Frank Yacono, DLA’s director of enterprise support.
“If you haven’t been contacted, you don’t have any issues,” he said.
All affected employees are in the Federal Employees Retirement System.
DLA learned about the issue from the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service in late November and started reaching out to affected employees in January through phone calls and letters, he said.
Human resources officials had spoken with every impacted employee by early May and began helping them work with Defense Finance Accounting Service for resolutions, especially those who may owe money.
“It’s a scary situation when you are potentially indebted to the government, but that’s why we’re here, to walk the employees through the steps,” Yacono said.
According to published reports, calculation errors resulted from two changes in retirement contribution rates for FERS employees made by Congress in 2012 and 2014. DOD agencies assigned some employees to the wrong FERS retirement plan – at no fault of the employees – causing the incorrect contribution rates.
Employees who are still unsure whether they’re impacted or have other questions can contact a DLA Employee Benefits specialist or visit the DLA Human Resources website.