Who Is Eligible for Retirement Benefits?
Preston Jones, 51, had been an hourly worker in a machine shop of Armon Company for 21 years and four months. On a Christmas holiday, he suffered a severe heart attack and was hospitalized for three weeks. At his release, his doctor said he was to rest at home for a couple of months. After his recuperation period, his doctor, along with Armon Company's physicians, was to decide whether or not Preston should be retired for disability reasons. They never got the opportunity to make this decision; in February, Preston died of a second heart attack. He left a wife, four sons, two daughters, and two daughters-in-law. Mrs. Jones still had four children at home.
As a part of Preston's estate, his wife received the normal group insurance payments, the balance of his savings plan account, and the other benefits due her. However, she did not receive a pension from Armon as a survivor of an eligible employee. When Mrs. Jones and the company representatives had discussed the settlement, she had inquired about her husband's pension and about her right to receive it. The human resource department had stated that since contributions to this fund were made only by the company, no survivor's benefits were provided.
QUESTIONS
1. What do you think Mrs. Jones should do at this point?
2. What does the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 have to say about this issue?