Despite a recommendation by the Marietta City Council, the Marietta Pension Board votes down a proposal to extend pension benefits to the surviving spouses of city employees who die before they retire.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB have been following the dilemma faced by Janet Cosper after her husband Hal died suddenly last year.
Although Hal Cosper was fully vested after decades of working as a city building inspector, his death before retirement prevents his widow from accessing his pension. Instead, as the AJC Watchdog reports, the city keeps it.
Marietta's mayor and council worked to reform provisions of the pension plan, but the Pension Board rejected changes by a 6-2 vote.
Mayor Steve Tumlin admits he's disappointed.
"If nothing else, you've got to have a little bit of heart," he tells the AJC.
The mayor also believes the way the city has set up its pension plan encourages vested employees to retire early and seek employment elsewhere.
Councilman Philip Goldstein suggests employees buy term life insurance to cover a spouse since the city doesn't, at least until retirement.