The federal government is reportedly trying to get back $6.8 million from more than 1,200 Navy retirees after discovering a system error had been doling out bigger payments than were due for nearly four years.
The Navy Times first reported the miscalculated service time glitch for 1,283 retirees from August 2019 to February.
NBC News reported Monday the $6.8 million overpayment means retirees owe anywhere from $35 to more than $70,000, according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).
The agency is sending debt notifications this week on how to pay up, or get a waiver, the news outlet reported.
"It's a double whammy," Devin Morrison, 52, formerly an executive officer of the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, told NBC. He expects he will owe $30,000.
Morrison, who now works in the private sector, told NBC News he has reduced his 401(k) contribution by 10% to deal with the shrinking budget.
"Through no fault of my own, I'm going to be saddled with this pretty significant bill," he told NBC. "That's a hard pill to swallow."
The Navy said the error began when its personnel system sent incorrect data to the DFAS. The retirees' inactive reserve service time was wrongly counted as active-duty creditable service, which led to the larger monthly paychecks.
"From there, the Navy thoroughly investigated the issue, determined the affected population and decided on corrective actions," Cmdr. Rick Chernitzer, a Navy Personnel Command spokesperson, said in a statement, NBC reported. "This process took time and was important to ensure we did not negatively affect someone's pay without understanding the scope of the issue."
The DFAS said the median overpayment was $2,700 — and warned if retirees do nothing, it will deduct from the person's monthly benefit at a rate of 15% of net disposable pay, and "retains the right to pursue other collection methods, as necessary."
It is not the first time a system error has gummed up the works for Navy retirees.
At least 65 dentists and physicians with the Navy Reserves were told they owe at least three more years of service after an error was discovered in how their retirement credits had been calculated, NBC has reported.
And in late April, NBC reported Army officials said more than 600 aviation officers are being held to another three years of service after a similar record-keeping error was found.
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