Opinion ID: 1420198
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: Statutory Challenge: Retirement Benefits Received Prior to Injury

Text: Culver contends individually that the district court erred in its application of section 8-42-103(1)(c)(II) because he began receiving social security retirement benefits prior to incurring his workplace injury. Because he was receiving both social security retirement benefits and wages before the 1992 injury, he argues that application of the offset provision would penalize him twice. Not only would he receive just two-thirds of his wages in the form of workers' compensation benefits, those benefits would then be reduced by one-half the amount of his retirement benefits. Culver would have us conclude that the General Assembly did not intend such a result. We disagree. The statute does not so provide. Section 8-42-103(1)(c)(II) states in pertinent part: In cases where it is determined that periodic benefits granted by the federal old-age, survivors, and disability insurance act or employer-paid retirement benefits are payable to an individual and the individual's dependents when the individual reaches the age of sixty-five years, the aggregate benefits payable for permanent total disability pursuant to this section shall be reduced, but not below zero: (A) By an amount equal nearly as practical to one-half such federal benefits .... § 8-42-103(1)(c)(II) (emphasis added). In ascertaining legislative intent, we must accord words and phrases their plain and obvious meaning. See § 2-4-101, 1B C.R.S. (1980); see also People v. District Court, 713 P.2d 918, 921 (Colo.1986); Engelbrecht, 680 P.2d at 233. Contrary to Culver's contention, this provision does not limit application of the offset to instances in which both types of payments are intended to compensate wage loss for the worker's industrial disability. The plain language of section 8-42-103(1)(c)(II)(A) requires that social security retirement benefits be offset against the injured employee's workers' compensation benefits, despite the fact that retirement benefits are not designed to compensate a claimant for an industrial injury. The order in which a worker becomes eligible for these benefits does not make a difference, given the statute's plain wording. The General Assembly designed the social security offset to coordinate and reduce social security retirement, employer-paid retirement, and workers' compensation payments for the same time period once a PTD worker reaches age sixty-five. See Engelbrecht, 680 P.2d at 233. The statute operates the samewhether social security retirement benefits are payable to him or her prior to the industrial injury, or in the other order. Thus, we affirm the Court of Appeals' determination that section 8-42-103(1)(c)(II) and (IV) applies to Culver.