Reister v. City of Portland Bureau of FPDR

“An ‘FPDR Two Member whose employment with the Bureau of Fire or Police terminates after completing five Years of Service shall be eligible to receive the benefit on vested termination.’ That benefit ‘shall be the FPDR Two Member’s retirement benefit accrued […] to the date of the FPDR Two Member’s termination of employment’ and ‘shall be payable monthly for the life of the FPDR Two Member commencing on Earliest Retirement Date.’" Portland City Charter § 5-305(b), (c).

Petitioner appealed from a judgment which dismissed her petition for writ of review. On appeal, Petitioner argued that the administrative law judge (ALJ) improperly construed the Portland City Charter and, therefore, the ALJ erred by denying her petition for retirement benefits as a surviving spouse of a member of the City of Portland’s Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund (FPDR). “An ‘FPDR Two Member whose employment with the Bureau of Fire or Police terminates after completing five Years of Service shall be eligible to receive the benefit on vested termination.’ That benefit ‘shall be the FPDR Two Member’s retirement benefit accrued […] to the date of the FPDR Two Member’s termination of employment’ and ‘shall be payable monthly for the life of the FPDR Two Member commencing on Earliest Retirement Date.’" Portland City Charter § 5-305(b), (c).  The Court held that the text of the Portland City Charter makes clear that, to receive a retirement benefit as a surviving spouse, the member of the fund must have attained the age of retirement. Because petitioner’s husband passed away before he attained age of retirement, the ALJ did not err. Affirmed.