Refund of Life Insurance Premiums and Retirement Contributions
Highlights
An advance decision was requested regarding the refund of life insurance premiums and retirement contributions erroneously withheld from the salary of certain Federal employees. It was asked whether the salary adjustments could be made beyond the statute of limitations which bars all claims cognizable by GAO which are not received by GAO within 6 years of the date the claim first accrued. Salary adjustments can be made whenever a payroll error is discovered, as long as its correction is made within 6 years of the error. If the elapsed time is approaching 6 years and a delay for any reason is anticipated in making the adjustment, the matter should be forwarded to GAO for recording to preserve the employee's rights. Accordingly, the erroneous deductions may be refunded following these guidelines.