Memorandum  PERAC Memo #26: 2023 Pension Fraud Prevention Campaign

Date:	11/17/2023
Referenced Sources:	PERAC Website

PERAC Memo #26, 2023

To All Retirement Boards:

M E M O R A N D U M

TO:                  All Retirement Boards

FROM:            John W. Parsons, Esq., Executive Director

RE:                  2023 Pension Fraud Prevention Campaign

DATE:            November 17, 2023

In accordance with statutory requirements, the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) maintains a toll-free hotline for the reporting of suspected fraudulent public pension claims, payments, falsified records, and affidavits.

The hotline number is 1-800-445-3266. All messages are kept confidential.

Since 1998, PERAC has promoted the hotline through fraud prevention campaigns built around various slogans: “Help Take a Bite Out of Pension Fraud!”; “Pension Fraud Is Stealing”; “Pension Fraud! Let’s Cut it Out!”; “Stop Pension Fraud. It is not a Game”; and “One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Whole Bunch.”

This year’s campaign is “Pension Fraud is a Crime. Be a Superhero!” The accompanying poster prominently features our hotline as well as our email address for reporting any suspected fraud. Since we first introduced the email address, [e-mail], it has remained a popular means of communication for reporting suspected fraud. You can find links to report fraud online and digital downloads of the enclosed materials at mass.gov/pension-fraud.

We are enclosing three posters for your use. Please display them in your office and other locations in your building that provide maximum visibility.  Also enclosed are three copies of a brochure that informs readers about the PERAC Fraud Prevention Unit and provides some details about various types of pension fraud. Three copies of PERAC's “Referral Report of Potential Fraud” form are provided as well. Your staff should report instances of suspected public pension fraud to PERAC's Fraud Unit. You should also share links of the online form or make copies of the enclosed available to anyone who wishes to report suspected public pension fraud.

Please note that county and regional retirement systems will receive, under separate cover, copies of the fraud prevention materials to distribute to the local governmental units with which they interact. 

For additional copies of the poster, brochure, or form, please feel free to contact our Communications Director, Natacha Dunker, at 617-666-4446, extension 970 or at [e-mail].

The Commission sincerely appreciates your cooperation in this endeavor.