Retired US Navy veterans face repaying up to $70,000 after a systems glitch caused them to be overpaid for close to four years.
Reports say the federal government is looking to reclaim overpayments of nearly $7m from more than one thousand US Navy retirees after the system error miscalculated service time. This created about a $6.8m loss by paying 1,283 Navy retirees larger monthly payments than they were owed from August 2019 until February 2023.
The government is trying to recoup its losses from retirees, who owe amounts ranging from $35 to $70,000. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which is responsible for paying both active Defense Department personnel and retirees, said it would send out notices to the affected retirees to inform them of the debt and guidance on how to repay or apply for a waiver.
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Some of the affected retirees have already seen their monthly retirement incomes, while others are expecting to have to pay large bills.
Devin Morrison, a 52-year-old former executive officer of the Naval Medical Center in San Diego who retired in 2021, told NBC News: “It’s a double whammy.”
Morrison saw his monthly pay reduced by $762 from March to April. He has yet to see his notice of debt owed, but he expects the bill to be around $30,000.
“Through no fault of my own, I’m going to be saddled with this pretty significant bill,” he said. “That’s a hard pill to swallow.”
The error happened as a result of the US Navy sending incorrect data to DFAS that counted inactive reserve service time as active-duty service, resulting in inflated time in service counts.
“From there, the Navy thoroughly investigated the issue, determined the affected population and decided on corrective actions,” a Navy spokesperson told NBC News.
“This process took time and was important to ensure we did not negatively affect someone’s pay without understanding the scope of the issue.”
DFAS says the average debt faced by those affected would be about $2,700, according to a report from NBC News
