HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor this week released a series of compliance audits finding multiple pension administration and funding deficiencies in municipal pension plans in Chester County, including failures to properly deposit state aid, underfund pension obligations, and maintain adequate records.
The audits covered the Pennsbury Township Non-Uniformed Pension Plan, West Sadsbury Township’s police and non-uniformed pension plans, and West Vincent Township’s police and non-uniformed pension plans.
The most significant findings were identified in West Vincent Township’s Police Pension Plan, where auditors concluded the plan “was not, in all significant respects, administered in compliance” with applicable laws and policies. Auditors cited six findings, including failure to pay required minimum municipal obligations, failure to deposit the full amount of state aid, improper allocation of employee contributions, unauthorized pension benefits, and inaccurate state aid reporting forms.
Auditors said West Vincent Township failed to pay a $68,279 minimum municipal obligation due to the police pension plan for 2022, potentially affecting the plan’s ability to meet future benefit obligations.
The report also warned that the township could face a withholding of future state pension aid until the findings are corrected.
West Vincent Township’s Non-Uniformed Pension Plan audit identified four findings, several of which repeated prior audit issues that auditors said township officials failed to correct. Findings included inaccurate payroll and employee certification data submitted to the state, improper funding of member accounts, excess allocation of state aid, and procurement practices inconsistent with Act 205 requirements.
Auditors said the township certified ineligible employees and misstated payroll figures on Certification Form AG 385 filings used to calculate state pension aid distributions.
In West Sadsbury Township, auditors identified four findings in the Police Pension Plan audit, including repeated failures to deposit the full amount of state aid into the pension plan, incorrect state aid certification data resulting in overpayments, underpayment of minimum municipal obligations, and incorrect pension benefit calculations.
The audit said township officials had not corrected a previously cited finding involving undeposited state aid dating back to 2019. Auditors said $743 in state aid remained undeposited as of the completion of the audit.
West Sadsbury Township’s Non-Uniformed Pension Plan audit identified two findings, including repeated failures to deposit the full amount of state aid into the pension plan and failure to properly determine and fully pay minimum municipal obligations.
The Pennsbury Township Non-Uniformed Pension Plan audit cited four findings, including failure to deposit the full amount of state aid into the pension plan, underpayment of state aid caused by inaccurate reporting data, improper calculation and payment of minimum municipal obligations, and continued record-keeping deficiencies previously identified in earlier audits.
Auditors said Pennsbury Township had only partially complied with prior recommendations related to maintaining adequate pension records.
The audits were conducted under Pennsylvania’s Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act, commonly known as Act 205, which governs funding standards and state aid distributions for municipal pension systems.
The full audit reports are available for public inspection at paauditor.gov.
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