The short version
- El Nuevo Día reported the Office of the Comptroller identified $13,257,577 in payments to deceased pensioners from four retirement systems
- Metro Puerto Rico reports the largest amount went to the ASR system with $8.8 million in 24,380 payments to 5,658 accounts
- All sources state one pensioner who died in 2016 received 93 checks totaling $75,462 until August 2026, some deposited in Kansas
- The comptroller referred findings to the Justice Department on Oct. 27 and recommended improved coordination with the Demographic Registry
Improper payments identified
The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico revealed on Monday that four government retirement systems disbursed a total of $13,257,577 in improper payments to 9,180 accounts of deceased pensioners. El Nuevo Día reported the payments occurred after more than 60 days following the deaths between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2025. The systems involved are the Retirement System for Employees of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE), the Administration of Retirement Systems for Government Employees and Judiciary (ASR), the Teachers' Retirement System and the University of Puerto Rico Retirement Trust.
Comptroller Carmen Vega Fournier said in the report that the analysis compared retirement system databases with the Demographic Registry's death records from 1990 to 2025. Metro Puerto Rico reported that 56,712 payments were made after the 60-day period. The ASR system accounted for 24,380 payments totaling $8,793,181 to 5,658 accounts, while the Teachers' Retirement System had 24,682 payments for $2,418,436 to 3,193 accounts.
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What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
La coordinación ágil entre los sistemas de retiro, el Registro Demográfico y las entidades financieras es indispensable para proteger el erario.
Our translation: Agile coordination between the retirement systems, the Demographic Registry and financial entities is essential to protect the public treasury.
The source's own statement, as quoted by Office of the Comptroller report. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Notable cases and ongoing payments
According to Primera Hora, 16 accounts of deceased beneficiaries in the AEE system continued receiving payments until Aug. 31, 2026, totaling $128,899. One case highlighted across reports involved a pensioner who died on Feb. 1, 2016, and received 93 check payments totaling $75,462 through Aug. 31, 2026. El Vocero reported some of those checks were endorsed and deposited at a bank in Kansas. The comptroller's office used artificial intelligence to compare signatures and found discrepancies.
The AEE system had 1,424 payments totaling $1,055,888 to 201 accounts, and the UPR system had 802 payments for $990,072 to 128 accounts, El Nuevo Día reported. A sample from the ASR system found 339 deposits totaling $91,897 to debit cards known as Payroll cards for 32 deceased pensioners.
Recommendations and referrals
The comptroller's report, OC-27-35, concluded the payments violated applicable laws and regulations. It attributed the issues to a lack of controls and agreements with the Demographic Registry of Puerto Rico and other entities. Metro Puerto Rico reported that referrals were issued on Oct. 27, 2026, to the administrators of the retirement systems and to the Department of Justice.
Vega Fournier recommended that the systems implement effective mechanisms to promptly identify deaths, stop payments and inform families of notification responsibilities. She urged Justice Secretary Lourdes Gómez Torres to consider legal actions to recover the improperly paid funds and pursue possible charges of illegal appropriation. The comptroller stated, "La coordinación ágil entre los sistemas de retiro, el Registro Demográfico y las entidades financieras es indispensable para proteger el erario." Primera Hora reported.
Where the sources differ
All four sources agree on the total of $13,257,577 paid to 9,180 accounts via 56,712 payments and on the breakdown by system, though El Vocero rounded the total to $13.3 million. They concur on the 2016 case involving $75,462 in checks and the 16 accounts with $128,899 paid into 2026. Primera Hora, Metro and El Vocero quote the comptroller on the need to strengthen controls, while El Nuevo Día provides the most detail on the digital analysis methodology and specific days-after-death ranges. Metro uniquely mentions the use of artificial intelligence for signature comparison.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not specify how much of the $13.3 million has been or will be recovered, nor do they identify any individuals or families who received the improper payments. They provide no timeline for when the Justice Department might act on the referrals or whether any criminal charges have been filed. The sources also do not detail what, if any, immediate steps the retirement systems have taken to halt ongoing payments since the August 2026 data.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Official Sistemas de retiro desembolsan más de $13 millones a pensionados fallecidos
- Reporting Sistemas de retiro desembolsan más de $13 millones a pensionados fallecidos
- Reporting ¡Insólito!: Sistemas de Retiro pagan $13.2 millones a pensionados fallecidos
- Reporting Sistemas de retiro del gobierno desembolsaron millones de dólares a cuentas de pensionados fallecidos
- Reporting Contralora detecta $13.3 millones en pagos a cuentas de pensionados fallecidos
How we checked this
El Nuevo Día, Primera Hora, Metro Puerto Rico and El Vocero all based their coverage on the same Office of the Comptroller report released Nov. 2, 2026. Figures on total payments, individual system breakdowns and the 2016 Kansas case appear consistently across outlets, while the comptroller's quoted recommendations rest on the official document issued by Carmen Vega Fournier.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.
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