Opinion ID: 1403225
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Wishon's Appeal from the Board's Decision

Text: On August 1, 1995, Wishon began receiving social security disability payments. Wishon's social security disability payments were converted on March 1, 1996, to social security retirement payments under 42 U.S.C. § 402(a)(3)(A) (1994) because Wishon reached age 65. Helena argued, among other things, that Wishon's workers compensation benefit should be reduced by his social security benefits. The Assistant Director of Workers Compensation disagreed. Helena appealed to the Board. The Board modified Wishon's award, finding that the social security benefits were retirement benefits. Helena was entitled to a reduction of the award by the amount of those benefits. Wishon contends that the Board erred in determining that his compensation award should be offset by the amount of social security retirement benefits he is receiving. Wishon argues that, in so finding, the Board misinterpreted K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 44-501(h). We disagree. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 44-501(h) provides: If the employee is receiving retirement benefits under the federal social security act or retirement benefits from any other retirement system, program or plan which is provided by the employer against which the claim is being made, any compensation benefit payments which the employee is eligible to receive under the workers compensation act for such claim shall be reduced by the weekly equivalent amount of the total amount of all such retirement benefits, less any portion of any such retirement benefit, other than retirement benefits under the federal social security act, that is attributable to payments or contributions made by the employee, but in no event shall the workers compensation benefit be less than the workers compensation benefit payable for the employee's percentage of functional impairment. A compensation award will be reduced by the amount of the social security benefits (unless the reduced award is less than the compensation benefit payable for the employee's percentage of functional impairment, in which case the employee gets that benefit). The purpose of this reduction is to prevent wage-loss duplication. See Dickens v. Pizza Co., 266 Kan. 1066, 1070-71, 974 P.2d 601 (1999); Injured Workers of Kansas v. Franklin, 262 Kan. 840, 870, 942 P.2d 591 (1997). Wishon argues that we should apply the rationale and result of Dickens here. Dickens was receiving retirement benefits. He delivered pizzas to supplement those benefits and was injured. He suffered a second wage loss. His compensation award was to replace the second wage loss and was not a duplication of the retirement benefits he was already receiving. 266 Kan. at 1071. Wishon contends that he receives social security retirement benefits because he was receiving disability benefits when he turned 65. He reasons that he is receiving benefits solely because of his disability, not because he chose to retire. Wishon draws a distinction between workers who voluntarily retire and those who are forced to retire because of disability. He argues the latter should be able to retain their benefits without offset. In support of this contention, he cites Brown v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 3 Kan. App.2d 648, 599 P.2d 1031 (1979), affd 227 Kan. 645, 608 P.2d 1356 (1980). We disagree. Wishon seizes on a comment in Brown that [a] worker could retain workmen's compensation benefits by staying in the labor market and not retiring. 3 Kan. App.2d at 654. He argues that this language from Brown clearly establishes that injured workers who are forced to retire should be treated differently than those who choose to do so. Wishon's emphasis takes the language out of context. The point of the quote is that a worker who retires, whether forced to or not, is no longer suffering wage loss because of injury, but because of retirement, for which he or she receives benefits. The quote does not support Wishon's argument. In fact, Brown runs contrary to the argument, in that the employee in Brown was unable to work because of his disability, but his benefits were reduced. Wishon also cites Green v. City of Wichita, 26 Kan. App.2d 53, 977 P.2d 283 (1999). In Green, the question was whether an employee's disability payments from a city-based retirement system constituted retirement payments under K.S.A. 44-501(h) and were thus subject to offset. Green held they were not. Green defined retirement payments as benefits paid because of age or length of service. The disability benefits paid to Green were because of his injury, not because of his age or length of service. 26 Kan. App.2d at 55-57. Wishon asserts he also received benefits because of his disability that were then converted into retirement benefits; thus, his benefits are due to his disability rather than his age or length of service. Wishon's situation is not similar to Green's. Green was not near retirement age. He was receiving payments from a city retirement system, which, although designated as a retirement system, also paid disability benefits. Green's benefits were due to disability rather than age or length of service. Wishon was receiving payments based on his disability. However, at age 65, those payments changed to retirement payments because of his age. Wishon's retirement benefits are based on his age rather than his disability. The purpose of the K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 44-501(h) offset provision is to prevent wage-loss duplication. Dickens, 266 Kan. at 1071. Wishon's benefits are subject to the K.S.A. 44-501(h) offset provision. He is receiving social security retirement benefits. Therefore, the plain language of K.S.A. 44-501(h) requires that his workers compensation award be reduced by his social security payments. Where an injured worker is receiving a workers compensation award and also social security disability payments which are converted to social security retirement benefits because the recipient reaches age 65, the workers compensation award is subject to the K.S.A. 44-501(h) offset provision. Wishon's frustration is understandable. Before reaching age 65, he received not only his workers compensation benefits, but also social security benefits because of his disability. Kansas has not made workers compensation benefits subject to offset by social security disability payments, as have other states. See, e.g. Minn. Stat. §176.101 Subd. 4 (1998) (reducing permanent total disability payments by the amount of any federal social security disability payments, retirement payments, or survivor benefits payable because of the same injury). Wishon received both benefits without an offset until he reached age 65. At age 65, his social security disability benefits became retirement benefits, subject to the K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 44-501(h) offset provision. As a result, his monthly income was considerably reduced. Wishon's final argument is that applying the offset here contravenes the purpose of workers compensation. He bases this argument on language in Boyd v. Barton Transfer & Storage, 2 Kan. App.2d 425, 580 P.2d 1366, rev. denied 225 Kan. 843 (1978). Boyd adopted a statement from Baker v. List and Clark Construction Co., 222 Kan. 127, 563 P.2d 431 (1977). Baker in turn quoted 4A Larson, The Law of Workmen's Compensation 97.00 and 97.10 (1976), for the following proposition: `Wage-loss legislation is designed to restore to the worker a portion, such as one-half to two-thirds, of wages lost due to the three major causes of wage-loss: physical disability, economic unemployment, and old age.' 2 Kan. App.2d at 427. Wishon pulls the Boyd statement out of context to support a bright-line policy that workers must receive one-half to two-thirds of their wages in any wage loss legislation. Wishon's argument is without merit. The language used by Larson does not establish policy, but instead simply comments on the general purpose of wage-loss regulation. Kansas has not subscribed to the proposition that wage-loss regulation must replace one-half to two-thirds of a claimant's income. Wishon's forum for such a policy change is the legislature. Affirmed.