Judge: Pensions wrongly reduced
A second judge rules in favor of widows, widowers of AK retirees.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
A second judge has ruled in favor of the widows and widowers of retired AK Steel employees who filed a lawsuit against the company for wrongly reducing the amount of pension benefits due to them during the past 15 years.
Judge Michael Barrett of the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati upheld Judge Timothy Black's decision to grant a partial summary judgment in favor of the spouses on March 31.
Extras
Get latest headlines via RSS feedsAccording to Rupert Ruppert, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the case, AK Steel is required to pay surviving spouses equal to half of their deceased spouse's pension benefit minus one half of their Social Security widow's benefit.
However, AK Steel has been reducing the payment by one half of a spouse's entire Social Security benefit, including benefits earned from the widow or widower's own employment, Ruppert said.
As a result, widows or widowers may be owed thousands of dollars in benefits not paid by the company, he said.
"There are currently 5,000 widows and widowers receiving pension benefits through (AK Steel). What we don't know is how many earned benefits on their own right and would be affected and those who would not be impacted," Ruppert said.
The lawsuit alleges there has been a breach of contract in widow and widower pension benefits going back 15 years.
Alan McCoy, spokesman for AK Steel, declined to comment.
AK Steel has appealed the decisions to the U.S. Sixth District Court of Appeals. Ruppert said his law firm, Ruppert, Bronson & Ruppert Co., L.P.A., plans to oppose the appeal.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jlander@coxohio.com.
