DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say pension payments have been stolen from more than 100 Iowa public employee retirees’ accounts.
The Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System said Wednesday that 103 accounts were compromised in mid-October. The system serves workers for state and local governments and school districts and sends out checks to 115,000 retirees.
System spokeswoman Judy Akre says criminals obtained stolen Social Security numbers and birthdates and used the information to register for online account access. Then they diverted the payments to different financial institutions. She says the system learned of the crime Tuesday.
Akre says the system has reissued the payments to the correct financial institutions so the retirees will not lose money. The retirees are being asked to check with their financial institutions to ensure the October payments were properly credited.
