387 Pa. 627 | Pa. | 1957
Opinion by
This appeal raises the question whether an Act of the Legislature amending an earlier Act by changing the class of beneficiaries entitled to a pension fund after the death of the pension member, can be applied retroactively in favor of the designated beneficiaries under the amending Act.
At the time decedent applied for membership in the new fund Section 11 of the Act of 1935, supra, provided: “When any member of the fund shall resign or be dismissed from service, or shall die while in active
Shortly after the pensioner’s demise in 1955, the plaintiff, Margaret Rupert, his widow, having claimed rights under the 1947 amendment, brought an action in assumpsit against the defendants, Policemen’s Relief and Pension Fund of the City of Pittsburgh and Chester B. Morley, its executive secretary, to recover the sum credited to her husband’s account. After the defendant, Potter Bank and Trust Company, adminis
Of the many constitutional arguments advanced by the administrator the court below was of opinion that the amendment of 1947 if enforced as to decedent or his estate would be violative of Article I, Section 17 of the Pennsylvania Constitution inhibiting laws impairing the obligation of contracts and accordingly concluded that the widow could not avail herself of the rights afforded by it. We are in accord with the result reached by the court below but for a different reason, making it unnecessary to consider any of the constitutional arguments advanced by the administrator.
The general rule of construction is that amendatory statutes are not to be construed as retroactive unless such a construction is so clear as to preclude all questions as to the intention of the Legislature: Commonwealth v. Repplier Coal Company, 348 Pa. 372, 35 A.
Whereas the rule is otherwise in many jurisdictions, we consistently have held that contributory pension acts similar to the one under consideration do not confer gratuities on municipal employes but provide for a system of retirement pay, deferred pay or adjusted compensation for years of service actually given in the performance of public duties: Retirement Board of Allegheny County v. McGovern et al., Commissioners, 316 Pa. 161, 174 A. 400; McBride v. Allegheny County Retirement Board et al., 330 Pa. 402, 199 A. 130; Kane v. Policemen’s Relief and Pension Fund of Pittsburgh et al., 336 Pa. 540, 9 A. 2d 739; Bausewine v. Philadelphia Police Pension Fund Association, 337 Pa. 267, 10 A. 2d 446; Baker v. Retirement Board of Allegheny County, 374 Pa. 165, 97 A. 2d 231; Hickey v. Pittsburgh Pension Board, 378 Pa. 300, 106 A. 2d 233. In Kane v. Policemen’s Relief and Pension Fund of Pittsburgh, supra, we specifically recognized the contractual status of the undertaking between the policeman and the pension fund. Since pension policies are considered contracts they are property and create certain vested rights in the member. In the instant case it is not disputed that a contractual relationship existed between the decedent and the defendant fund and that
The terms of the contract between the decedent and the fund as found in the Act of 1935 and the application for membership expressly provided that any funds contributed by the member would be returned to his executor or administrator in the event of his death and that the member waived any pension in the old fund other than a death benefit. This obligation on the part of the fund, at the time of the pensioner’s entry into the plan, to pay the amount credited to his account at his death to his executor or administrator was unquestionably one of the inducements offered decedent to join the fund and as such formed a part of his pension benefits and became a part of his contract of employment. The pensioner contracted not only to have his contribution returned to Mm upon his retirement but also for payment to his executor or administrator upon his death. That this was a substantial benefit cannot be gainsaid for the decedent could have bequeathed this property as he desired or allowed it to be distributed to his heirs according to the Intestate Act of 1947. It is patent that if the 1947 amendment to the 1935 pension Act were to be given a retrospective operation this benefit would be substantially altered, for the funds contributed by the member Avould then be paid to Ms widow in toto. The imposition of such a condition would be a clear deviation from the terms expressed in the contract resulting under the Act of 1935. We find nothing in the language of the 1947 amendment to justify the belief that it was intended to apply to past rights, and consequently under the rule of interpretation previously stated, must conclude that it was intended to apply to policemen joining the fund subsequent to the passage of the amendment.
Judgment affirmed.
In addition to bis widow decedent was survived by two sons, a daughter and two grandchildren.
A constitutional question will not be passed on unless it is absolutely necessary to decide the ease before the court: Robinson Township School District v. Houghton (et al.), 387 Pa. 236, 128 A. 2d 58; see, also, Commonwealth, to use of Dollar Savings & Trust Co., Trustee v. Picard et al., 296 Pa. 120, 124, 145 A. 794; Sablosky v. Messner, 372 Pa. 47, 60, 92 A. 2d 411; Altieri v. Allentown Officers’ and Employees’ Retirement Board, 368 Pa. 176, 180, 81 A. 2d 884.