El Paso County policy change gives slain deputy’s family quicker access to his pension

The family of slain El Paso County Sheriff's Deputy Micah Flick now has choices on how and when to receive his pension.

The county's Board of Retirement voted unanimously Monday to amend its policies to create options for the beneficiaries of Flick, an 11-year Sheriff's Office employee, and any other county workers who die on the job.

Flick, a husband and father of 7-year-old twins, was fatally shot in the line of duty Feb. 5.

Had the board not changed the policy, Flick's family would have had to wait about 20 years before receiving any of his retirement benefits, said County Treasurer Mark Lowderman, the board chairman.

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Now beneficiaries of those killed in the line of duty can begin receiving payments or a lump sum immediately, among other options. Two choices also provide benefits the employee would have accrued, had he or she lived and continued working.

"This addresses that long-term wait for accrued benefits and also gives the surviving beneficiary a number of options," Lowderman said.

The plan covers staff with the county, District Attorney's Office and the Pikes Peak Library District. It's overseen by a board made up of employees from each agency and appointed members.

Under the plan, an employee contributes 8 percent of his or her pay and, once he or she is vested, the employer matches that amount.

The board's Monday decision was the second revision to county benefits policies with the Flick family in mind.

The county's health plan trust board, which reviews employee medical benefits, voted Feb. 15 to allow dependents of those killed in the line of duty to continue receiving health insurance for up to a year at no cost. Had that change not been made, the coverage for Flick's family would have expired at the beginning of this month.

Until Flick was shot, the county hadn't had an employee die on the job since 1992, when Deputy Hugh Martin was shot to death during a raid on a drug dealer's home.

"This is long overdue," Deputy County Administrator Nicola Sapp said of the retirement plan amendment. "Fortunately we have not been in a situation where this has been something that has been necessary until now."

Under the amended plan, Flick's family and beneficiaries of other county employees killed at work can choose from the following:

- Option one: The beneficiary or beneficiaries would begin receiving monthly payments on the first day of the month after the death. If the employee had worked for the county at least 10 years, each monthly payment would be at least 25 percent of the employee's average monthly compensation.

- Option two: The beneficiary or beneficiaries would begin receiving payments on the first day of the month following what would have been - had the employee survived - the earliest date the employee could have retired under the plan without receiving reduced payments. The total benefits would be calculated by adding the employee's accrued benefits at the time of death to the benefits the employee would have accrued if he or she survived, assuming he or she worked until that "earliest unreduced retirement date" and received a 3 percent pay raise each year.

- Option three: Total benefits would be calculated similarly to option two, but the beneficiary or beneficiaries could receive a lump-sum payment immediately instead of waiting for monthly payments. The beneficiaries or beneficiary could also opt for the lump sum to be paid in installments over up to four years to reduce tax implications.

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Contact Rachel Riley: 636-0108

Credit: Rachel Riley