Eric S. Jensen expects to receive his late husband’s death benefits due to a judicial order last week recognizing the couple’s common-law marriage.
On Aug. 23, Chester County Common Pleas Judge John L. Hall ruled that Jensen was in a common-law marriage with his late husband Timothy Howey since 1997. If the judge hadn’t recognized their common-law marriage, Jensen’s ability to receive Howey’s death benefits — including a substantial pension from Amtrak — was in jeopardy.
Howey, who died in October, worked at Amtrak for almost 40 years. The couple obtained a marriage certificate six months prior to Howie’s death.
Amtrak initially denied Jensen’s request for Howey’s pension benefits, citing an agency rule that a pension recipient must have been married to a deceased employee for at least one year.
Additionally, Howey’s death benefits to be distributed by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board were in jeopardy because that agency has a nine-month marriage rule.
According to court records, the couple was together 30 years, jointly owned a Chester County home, had a commitment ceremony in 1997 and received domestic-partner benefits from Amtrak in 2012, after those benefits became available.
Additionally, the couple’s friends and family members considered them to be married for many years.
Jensen mounted a concerted legal effort to obtain Howey’s death benefits, resulting in Hall’s Aug. 23 ruling. Jensen expects to receive about $4,380 monthly in survivor’s benefits, due to Hall’s ruling.
For about 130 years, Pennsylvania recognized common-law marriages between a man and a woman. In 2005, the state legislature abolished common-law marriage, but specifically allowed the recognition of such marriages that occurred on or before Jan. 1, 2005.
Recently, several judges in Pennsylvania retroactively recognized same-sex common-law marriages, thus enabling surviving spouses to access various benefits.
“Eric’s case demonstrates the continued discrimination same-sex couples continue to face even after marriage equality,” said Tiffany Palmer, an attorney for Jensen. “The issue is most significant for long-term couples who were able to legally marry, but the length of their marriage affects rights and benefits.”
Palmer noted that surviving spouses can face issues regarding the length of their marriage for certain pension, retirement or Social Security benefits.
“In Eric’s case, he had been with his partner for 30 years and yet Amtrak deemed their marriage to be only six months long because it was based upon when they obtained a marriage certificate,” she said. “Common-law marriage provides a legal basis for individuals facing this discrimination to prove that they met the legal requirements of having a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law even prior to the date they obtained a marriage certificate.”
Jensen issued this statement in regard to the ruling: “These are benefits Tim earned for working at Amtrak for almost 40 years. This whole process has been disrespectful to Tim, our 30-year relationship and our marriage. Instead of simply updating their pension plan to close this loophole, they forced me to go to court. Only because we live in Pennsylvania were we able to obtain a common-law marriage, but couples that live in other states that don’t recognize common-law marriages are still at risk of being denied pension and Social Security survivor benefits. These benefits will help me financially when I retire and through my older years.”
Mike Tolbert, an Amtrak spokesperson, told PGN the company is “committed to providing an equal-opportunity workplace that strictly prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran’s status or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Amtrak does provide pension-survivor benefits to individuals who provide documentation demonstrating they were married by law at least one year prior to the employee’s death, which in some cases comes in the form of a court order regarding marital status.”
Michael P. Freeman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, said he could not “comment on — or respond to — questions regarding railroad retirement and survivor benefits being paid or not being paid to specific individuals without their written consent.”