via Chicago CBS Local,
by Pam Zekman, chicago.cbslocal.com,
October 2, 2015,
You retire assuming the pension you were told you’ll get is correct. But imagine being told you were overpaid by your pension fund and now you have to pay back tens of thousands of dollars.
That’s what happened to more than 500 retirees who were overpaid more than $5 million over 40 years because of mistakes admitted by the Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 pension fund.
Pension rights officials say the tactics used by a union to get back the money are among the worst they have ever seen. CBS 2 first reported on this story last year; now, the retirees are fighting back with a lawsuit that could help protect all retirees.
They worked for decades as sheet metal workers. It was 37 years for 82-year-old Carl Meeks. He retired 20 years ago and with his wife, Ellen, was living on a $1,500 monthly pension.
Then, in 2013, the pension fund sent a letter to Meeks saying he was overpaid more than $44,000. With $33,000 interest, he had to pay back $77,281.