United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Accounting and Information Management Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-09-09 monographic deposited born digital 26 p. GA 1.13:AIMD-97-128 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128 P0b002ee180376f99 f:ai97128 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128 AIMD-97-128 Internal controls Computer security Trust funds Actuarial tables ADP Data collection Financial management systems Veterans pensions Defense audits Noncompliance Military Retirement Trust Fund Letter Report AIMD

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense (DOD) Military Retirement Trust Fund's actuarial model and related computer controls.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) based on GAO's review, GAO concurs with KPMG Peat Marwick LLP's conclusion that the methodology and actuarial assumptions used by the DOD Office of the Actuary to calculate the pension liability as of September 30, 1996, and the annual actuarial activity for the Fund were reasonable and reliable; (2) GAO also concurs with KPMG's identification of numerous control weaknesses related to: (a) the data gathering and preparation process; and (b) electronic data processing (EDP) activities; (3) due to the serious nature of the computer-related weaknesses identified, GAO agrees with KPMG's conclusion that there is a lack of overall security administration and management governing access to Fund data files; (4) in particular, DOD has not adequately implemented security policies and procedures, controlled the ability of computer programmers to make changes to systems, and controlled access to information on pension fund participants; (5) such uncontrolled access affects other sensitive personal and career-related information as well; (6) the computer that houses the Fund's data files also stores information on social security numbers, pay rates, child and spousal abuse allegations, and medical test results for both active duty and retired personnel; (7) although DOD regulations require that sensitive data be housed only on computers meeting specific security guidelines, the Fund processing sites reviewed by KPMG do not comply with those guidelines; (8) despite the weaknesses identified, KPMG believed that a material misstatement of the pension liability was unlikely to occur because of compensating controls that hinge largely on the experience and tenure of staff in the Office of the Actuary; and (9) GAO agrees that compensating controls currently exist in the Office of the Actuary but caution DOD against long-term reliance on controls that depend largely on the retention of a few key employees. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128/html/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128/pdf/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128.pdf GAO/AIMD-97-128 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-128 Letter Report GAO/AIMD-97-128; Financial Management: Review of the Military Retirement Trust Fund's Actuarial Model and Related Computer Controls; Internal controls Computer security Trust funds Actuarial tables ADP Data collection Financial management systems Veterans pensions Defense audits Noncompliance Military Retirement Trust Fund Title 31 Section 720 31 U.S.C. 720 Public Law 98-94