Nearly 300 retired city employees in Houston are still waiting on their pension payments, months after agreeing to early retirement packages meant to cut costs.
At a city council meeting on Wednesday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire pushed back on criticism, saying he has no authority over the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System (HMEPS).
"I have no control over the pension fund," Whitmire said. "We’ve explained that repeatedly, provided the data to our daily paper, but that’s not what they want to write, and neither does one of my critics want to show the facts."
More than 1,000 city workers took early retirement in May, far above the system’s usual average of 39 monthly retirements, according to HMEPS Chair Sherry Mose. Retirees were originally told they would receive payments within 30 to 60 days, but many say that promise hasn’t been kept.
One of them, Kathy Caldwell, told ABC13 she’s struggling to keep up with bills. “I strongly regret retiring,” Caldwell said. “I’m sorry, I’m getting ready to cry. I don’t want to, but it’s a lot. It’s a lot. I need help. I need my money.”
Mose said the delays have been caused by paperwork issues and the sheer volume of retirees. Missing documents like marriage licenses and birth certificates have slowed processing, but she stressed that all outstanding payments should be issued by the end of September.
To speed things up, HMEPS has hired extra staff and required overtime. Mose said her office has fielded more than 13,000 calls from worried retirees but insisted the issue is being taken seriously.
HMEPS serves more than 25,000 people and provides retirement, survivor, and disability benefits to city employees and pension staff.