Wayne County’s Pension Overpayment Issue
Wayne County has discovered it overpaid pensions for two retired judges by over $1 million. However, there’s uncertainty about whether the county will be able to recover all the funds.
Last year, the Wayne County Retirement System found that they had drastically overpaid the pensions of David Szymanski and Richard Hathaway, both former circuit court judges who later took other roles within the county.
Specifically, they determined that Szymanski’s pension was overpaid by $450,852 since his retirement in 2015, while Hathaway’s pension had been overpaid by $595,700 dating back to 2008.
Pension calculations typically take into account an employee’s years of service and salary. In this case, Szymanski served for 20 years on the bench, and Hathaway for 24 years.
However, judges aren’t considered standard county employees. Most of a circuit court judge’s salary is funded by the state, with remaining amounts collected locally.
For calculating their pensions, the county considered the higher salaries that both judges earned after leaving the bench—Szymanski made around $150,000 in the Treasurer’s Office for five years, and Hathaway earned about $155,000 in the prosecutor’s office over 11 years. Now, the county admits that was a miscalculation.
Ironically, the issue first surfaced due to a lawsuit from Szymanski against the county for not receiving promised retirement health benefits.
Multiple courts ruled that Szymanski wasn’t a county employee while serving as a judge, prompting the retirement system to review how his pension was calculated.
Last year, the county decided to adjust Szymanski’s annual pension from $81,264 to $36,180 and stated that Hathaway’s $101,268 pension should have been calculated at $65,880 instead.
Both judges currently receive reduced monthly pensions.
Alisha Bell, chair of the Wayne County Commission and a member of the retirement committee, raised questions about whether any of the money could be returned. “Are we going to recover all, some, or nothing at all?”
Bell plans to address the matter at the next board meeting on Monday, stating, “We want to resolve this fairly for current and future pensioners.”
County Executive Warren Evans expressed frustration over the situation. He recently criticized a potential settlement with one of the judges that might allow over $500,000 of funds received to go unreturned, stating he will fight to prevent what he sees as an injustice.
The county’s pension system is presently 70% funded—better than before, but still lacking in fully meeting its obligations.
During an interview, Bell was questioned about the possibility of waiving the repayment entirely, to which she answered, “I can’t guarantee anything.”
Not all board members agree with Evans on pursuing restitution. Some believe it’s unfair to penalize Szymanski, who claims he relied on the county’s original pension calculations for his retirement planning.
Szymanski asserted that he has depended on this for financial security over the past decade. His legal battle continues, while Hathaway, who hasn’t filed suit, opted not to comment on the situation.
Although regular county employees can’t vote on the resolution of the overpayment, they still have insights to share. Recently, around 50 Wayne County officials gathered to discuss financial matters, and one employee mentioned that, in her view, anyone who overpaid would need to return the excess funds.
