Nearly 300 retired city employees in Houston, a city led by Democrats, are reportedly still waiting for their pension payments months after opting for an early retirement package aimed at reducing costs.
Local reports indicate that Mayor John Whitmire has pushed back against criticisms regarding the delays in payments from Houston’s Employee Pension Plan (HMEPS). He emphasized that the city does not have control over the pension funds. “I don’t control the pension fund,” Whitmire stated. “We provided data repeatedly, but that’s not what they want to write about, and my critics don’t seem to care about the facts either.”
In May, over 1,000 city employees chose the early retirement option, a number significantly higher than the typical average of 39 retirements per month, according to board chair Shelley Mose.
The retirees were initially informed that payments would take about 30 to 60 days to process, but that deadline has since passed. Kathy Caldwell, a retired city employee, voiced her frustration, saying, “I strongly regret retirement. I regret it very much. I’m ready to cry. I don’t want to, but it’s a lot. It needs help. It needs money.”
Mose mentioned that all outstanding payments should be processed by the end of September. The delays stemmed from a combination of timing issues and errors in the paperwork submitted by some retirees, including missing documents like birth certificates and marriage licenses.
To tackle the situation, HMEPS has brought on additional staff, with team members working overtime. Mose noted that her office received over 13,000 calls related to missing payments. “Everyone is addressing this issue. It’s not on the backburner,” she added.
HMEPS is a government-operated pension plan that offers benefits for disability, retirement, and survivors to city employees. It currently supports more than 25,000 individuals, as highlighted on its website.
Requests for comments from Mayor Whitmire and HMEPS went unanswered.
