The United Federation of Teachers announced Friday that pension funds had been erroneously withdrawn from thousands of retired members' accounts.

A system-wide snafu with direct deposit left 60,000 retired New York City teachers and staff scrambling for cash at a crucial time.

The president of the teachers' union posted a message on the union Web site that read, ?The union is working with Bank of New York Mellon to quickly restore members funds and make whole anyone who has been harmed."