The widow of a South Florida firefighter thought her husband’s pension would be enough to take of her. But she says she’s left with nothing because of a major mistake.
7’s Heather Walker investigates.
There were two things that Elizabeth Griffith says her husband, Doug, loved more than anything: His family, and his job as a firefighter.
Elizabeth Griffith: “He was that kind of guy. He always wanted to be the first one to do the job. And he was like, gung ho fire department.”
Doug was a Tamarac firefighter for more than 25 years. The last few were spent on disability before he passed away in 2018.
Elizabeth says he died believing his pension would take care of her for the rest of her life.
Elizabeth Griffith: “He would say, ‘I don’t know what it would be, but you will get a life pension.’ He was so sure.”
After Doug died, Elizabeth called the City of Tamarac to ask about his pension. But she was told her husband didn’t have one.
Elizabeth Griffith: “I mean, when it hit me, I, of course, I cried for a while, and then I thought, ‘How did this happen?’”
The city told her that Doug should have converted his disability plan into a regular retirement pension. He would have had the option to choose a plan that paid Elizabeth for the rest of her life.
But Doug never picked one.
Elizabeth says she was never told he needed to do anything.
Elizabeth Griffith: “They never sent us anything and nobody notified him of it, so he just assumed it was already set. Their own people have said, ‘We basically dropped the ball with him.’”
In a meeting of the Tamarac Pension Trust Fund Board, members acknowledged Doug “was entitled to a normal retirement benefit…” However, “…The process was not completed and there is no indication Mr. Griffith was provided an opportunity…” to choose a plan.
Elizabeth says no one brought it up when Doug asked the board about a raise in his disability payments.
Elizabeth Griffith: “There was their opportunity right there to say, ‘Doug, you didn’t fill out your paperwork!’”
Since Doug didn’t pick a plan, the trust fund board granted her a 10-year pension plan with payments spread across four years.
The money stopped in 2022.
Elizabeth Griffith: “They’ve had to see me like dwindle, you know, from an OK person to this person that’s just depleted.”
7Investigates reached out to the pension board and the City of Tamarac.
The board’s attorney wouldn’t comment.
A city spokesperson told us “…This specific case falls under the jurisdiction of the board of trustees of the fund and not directly with the City of Tamarac. Ms. Griffith has been advised to pursue her case through the court system…”
Elizabeth can’t afford to do that.
Elizabeth Griffith: “I’ve lost everything. I can’t, I couldn’t keep my house, i couldn’t keep my car. I can barely keep anything, you know. I mean, I’m really struggling.”
And after six years of battling for her husband’s full pension, she doesn’t know if she has any fight left in her.
