CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : WALNUT CREEK : 18 Hours Separate Widow, Benefits

A widow is fighting for full pension benefits despite regulations that disqualified her because her husband died 18 hours before his official retirement. Letty Catchings is asking a San Francisco Superior Court commissioner to grant the full $12,000 in annual pension benefits earned by her late husband, Harry, during his 37-year career with the city’s Municipal Railway system. The administrators of San Francisco’s pension plan have offered Catchings about half of the benefits based on a strict interpretation of policy that says spouses are entitled to full pension benefits only if the insured dies after retirement.