Fixing Pension Pay

Q: I have been retired almost 10 years from a public utility. After this firm recently merged with another public utility and moved its headquarters outside the state, I was notified by letter that my pension was going to be reduced $82 a month because a recent audit showed I was being overpaid.

When I requested an explanation, I was informed that it would take the company another 90 days to send one. The firm did indicate it would not require any refund.

Are they within their rights to change my pension like this? Is there any statute of limitations that would prevent them from doing so? Is there anything I can do to prevent this reduction?

--J.R., Hacienda Heights

A: Not only is the plan acting properly in correcting your payments, the persons responsible for administering the plan are required to do so. In fact, they would be personally liable for paying you benefits in excess of the amount set forth in the plan.

The fact that your were paid too much for a period of years does not give you the right to receive this amount in the future.

The company could even demand that you repay the excess benefits, with interest, although that is rarely done when the plan made the mistake.

Your request for an explanation apparently is being treated under your plan’s claim procedures. The plan generally has 90 days to respond to a claim for benefits.

You should review the claims procedures in your Summary Plan Description to make sure they are being followed. You also should carefully examine the response that you receive from the plan to make sure that the information used to calculate the revised benefit is correct. For example, you should verify that the plan used your proper age, length of service and compensation, among other things.

--Kirk F. Maldonado

Employee benefits attorney

Riordan & McKinzie

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If you have a question about an on-the-job situation, please mail it to Shop Talk, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; dictate it to (714) 966-7873; or, e-mail it to shoptalk@latimes.com. Include your initials and hometown. The Shop Talk column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice.

More on Benefits

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