Court Opinion

ID: 9755572
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:43:03.122456+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:09.209558
License: Public Domain

FRIEDMAN, Judge,
dissents.
I respectfully dissent. Because I believe that the Pennsylvania State Employes’ Retirement Board (SERB) was required to pay death benefits to Louise Hutchinson (Claimant) upon the death of her husband on October 8, 1995, and because I believe that SERB’S withholding of benefits from Claimant until May 31, 1996 was wrongful, I would award interest to Claimant for the entire period between October 8,1995 and May 31,1996.
In Braig v. Pennsylvania State Employes’ Retirement Board, 682 A.2d 881, 889 (Pa.Cmwlth.1996), this court held that SERB is under an obligation by virtue of the common law of this Commonwealth to *19pay claimants the legal rate of interest on wrongfully withheld benefits from the date the money is “due and payable.” Stated another way, SERB must pay claimants interest on wrongfully withheld benefits from the date SERB’S duty to pay those benefits becomes fixed under the State Employees’ Retirement Code (Retirement Code).1 Braig.
The majority concludes that the Retirement Code is silent as to when SERB’S duty to pay Claimant’s death benefits arose. (Majority op. at 16-17.) However, in reaching that conclusion, the majority does not consider the definition of the term “beneficiary” in section 5102 of the Retirement Code,2 which I find controlling.
Section 5102 of the Retirement Code defines a “beneficiary” as the “person or persons last designated in writing to [SERB] by a member to receive [the member’s] accumulated deductions or a lump sum benefit upon the death of such member.” 71 Pa.C.S. § 5102 (emphasis added). Thus, under section 5102 of the Retirement Code, a beneficiary is entitled to receive death benefits upon the death of the retirement system member. Absent a special provision in the statute governing SERB’s duty to pay death benefits to a beneficiary like Claimant,3 Claimant’s death benefits became due and payable upon the death of her husband on October 8,1995.
The majority also states “it would be unreasonable and inequitable to award legal interest to Claimant for the entire period of time from the date of Judge Hutchinson’s death to the date payment of death benefits were disbursed by SERB.” (Majority op. at 17.) I strongly disagree. In fact, I believe it would be unreasonable and inequitable not to award interest to Claimant for the entire period from October 8,1995 to May 81,1996.
In Braig, this court stated that “any failure by [SERB] to timely [pay benefits] at the time fixed for payment will be considered a wrongful withholding of the sum due, warranting an award of interest at the legal rate from the date the money was due and payable.” Id. at 886-887 (emphasis added). Indeed, when SERB fails to pay benefits to a beneficiary in a timely manner, SERB has the use of that money until SERB makes payment, allowing SERB to earn interest on money rightfully belonging to the beneficiary. Certainly, it would be unreasonable and inequitable for this court to allow SERB to keep the interest acquired because of its delayed payment to the beneficiary. Because SERB is not entitled to such interest, there is no loss to SERB if it must pay interest for the entire period of a delay. However, there is a loss to the beneficiary, and a gain to SERB, if SERB is allowed to keep the interest that SERB earns with the money of a beneficiary.4
*20Because SERB earned interest using Claimant’s money from October 8, 1995 to May 31, 1996, I would award Claimant interest for that entire period.

. 71 Pa.C.S. §§ 5101-5956.

. 71 Pa.C.S. § 5102.

. When a general provision in a statute is in conflict with a special provision in the same statute, and the conflict is irreconcilable, the special provision shall prevail and shall be construed as an exception to the general provision. Section 1933 of the Statutory Construction Act of 1972, 1 Pa.C.S. § 1933. Section 5905(g) of the Retirement Code, 71 Pa. C.S. § 5905(g), provides that when an active member dies, death benefits are due and payable to a beneficiary within 60 days of receipt of certification of death and other necessary data. Thus, section 5905(g) is a special provision of the statute that sets forth an exception to the general rule in section 5102. However, section 5905(g) does not apply here because Claimant's husband was not an active member of the retirement system when he died. Therefore, the general rule at section 5102 applies here, requiring that death benefits are due and payable upon the death of a retirement system member.

.I note that the doctrine of unjust enrichment expresses the general principle that a party unjustly enriched at the expense of another should be required to make restitution for benefits received where it is just and equitable to do so and where such action involves no violation or frustration of law or opposition to public policy, either directly or indirectly. Crawford’s Auto Center v. Pennsylva*20nia State Police, 655 A.2d 1064 (Pa.Cmwlth. 1995). Here, I believe that SERB should be required to make restitution to Claimant for the interest that SERB received on her money-