PA Headlines 2/2/22
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A report commissioned by the board of Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system shows that a consultant took responsibility for an errant calculation about the fund’s investment performance. The discovery of the mistaken calculation forced the $72 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System to take a second vote last year that resulted in increasing employee contribution rates for 94,000 members, after it had originally certified them at lower rates.
Investigations by the FBI and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission followed the disclosure of the error, with both agencies sending subpoenas to the pension agency and, in the FBI’s case, questioning top PSERS officials. PSERS released the report on Monday night. The law firm that delivered the report, Womble Bond Dickinson, reported that Aon would not agree to an interview.
However, it noted that in two different memos delivered to the board, one in March and one in April, “Aon took responsibility for the error.” Both memos were attached to the report and blamed “inadvertent clerical mistakes at a data-entry level.” PSERS initially received the data from Aon in mid-2020. Months later, on Dec. 4, 2020, the report said, a PSERS staff member reviewing an Aon draft report “identified a discrepancy” in the investment performance data.
An Aon spokesperson declined comment, saying the “subject matter of the report relates to pending litigation. We do not comment on pending litigation.” Womble Bond Dickinson said it found no evidence of kickbacks, illegal payments, theft, self-dealing, false statements or misleading statements in financial transactions.
HARRISBURG — Spotlight PA is reporting… This month, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf will deliver his eighth and final budget address to a joint session of the legislature. Such speeches are usually a time for governors to lay out their vision for the future, and provide a wish list of all the policies and changes they want lawmakers to act on. This time, though, Wolf’s speech is expected to not only outline his policy requests but also look back at his administration’s turn at the helm of government.
The speech will provide the roadmap for weeks of budget hearings and negotiations between the term-limited governor and the Republican-controlled legislature. A signed budget must be in place by July 1, the start of the fiscal year. This time around, talks between the two sides will be buoyed by the fact that the state is flush with cash reserves — if only temporarily. This year, it is scheduled to resume being an in-person event, although legislative staff said they will likely cut down on the number of people (including aides and visitors) who are allowed to attend.
