The Marietta City Council is considering a policy change that would allow widows of employees who die before retirement to receive their spouses' pensions.
If approved, the change would address an unusual provision in the city’s pension plan. Currently, employees who die prior to retirement do not leave any survivor benefits to their families, even if they were fully vested in the city plan. Instead, that pension money that would otherwise have been paid to the employee goes back to the plan.
Since the policy was put in place 29 years ago, 13 vested employees have died prior to retirement, including Hal Cosper, who worked for the city for more than two decades before dying of a heart attack a year ago. His widow, Janet Cosper, was surprised to learn of the policy denying her survivor benefits.
Federal law requires private pension plans to pay the survivors of vested employees, but the law exempts plans of public agencies like Marietta. Still, an expert on public pensions told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution such a policy is unheard of.
The City Council will meet next Wednesday to discuss a change that would create an appeal process where survivors could apply for pension benefits. The change is backed by Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin and Councilman Johnny Walker.
“I just hope that my fellow councilmen will see that we need to do the right thing and get this changed,” Walker said. “I hope they will see the good in this.”
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