Senate Bill 0036
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Florida Senate - 1999 (NP) SB 36
By Senator Dyer
14-65-99
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of Lois Hild, as widow of
3 Fred E. Hild and beneficiary of his estate;
4 providing an appropriation for the purpose of
5 paying Lois Hild the retirement benefits to
6 which she would have been entitled as surviving
7 spouse of Fred E. Hild had Fred E. Hild
8 selected a specified retirement option upon his
9 retirement under the Florida Retirement System;
10 providing an effective date.
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12 WHEREAS, Fred E. Hild was an administrator at Valencia
13 Community College, a state junior college in the Orlando area,
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Fred E. Hild worked at Valencia Community
16 College for 28 years in a number of positions, including
17 assistant provost and dean of the west campus, and
18 WHEREAS, in October 1995, Fred E. Hild suffered a
19 stroke, and
20 WHEREAS, after being discharged from the hospital, Fred
21 E. Hild continued to receive rehabilitative therapies as an
22 outpatient at home, but was left with permanent disabilities,
23 including problems with his eyesight and short-term memory
24 loss, and
25 WHEREAS, because Fred E. Hild's stroke was sudden and
26 unanticipated, no arrangements had been made at Valencia
27 Community College for a transition to a successor for the post
28 which Fred E. Hild held at the time of his stroke, and
29 WHEREAS, in April 1996, Fred E. Hild agreed to return
30 to work at Valencia Community College to provide a transition
31 for the successor to his duties, and
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Florida Senate - 1999 (NP) SB 36
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1 WHEREAS, Fred E. Hild worked on a part-time basis until
2 June 1, 1996, and then full time from June 1996 to August 1996
3 when he formally retired, and
4 WHEREAS, upon returning to work at Valencia Community
5 College and as his retirement date approached, Fred E. Hild
6 was given an election form on which he was to select one of
7 the four options for the payment of his retirement benefits
8 under the Florida Retirement System, and
9 WHEREAS, in accordance with Rule 60S-4.010(9), Florida
10 Administrative Code, a member of the Florida Retirement System
11 must indicate on the election form whether he or she is
12 married or not and, if he or she is married, his or her spouse
13 must sign the form acknowledging that the member has elected
14 either Option 1 or Option 2, and
15 WHEREAS, unfortunately in the case of Fred E. Hild and
16 his wife, Lois Hild, this acknowledgement by the spouse does
17 not provide that the spouse have actual knowledge of which of
18 these two options the member has selected, and
19 WHEREAS, Fred E. Hild presented his wife, Lois Hild,
20 with the form for the election of retirement options, and Lois
21 Hild signed the form in the space indicated on the form, and
22 WHEREAS, the Hilds apparently believed that, because
23 Mr. Hild's signature had to be notarized but Mrs. Hild's
24 signature did not have to be notarized, it was necessary for
25 Mr. Hild to check the box indicating the selection of his
26 retirement option in the presence of the notary, and
27 WHEREAS, therefore, at the time Lois Hild signed the
28 retirement option selection form, the rest of the form was
29 blank, and
30 WHEREAS, prior to signing the retirement option
31 selection form, Fred E. Hild had discussed with his wife, Lois
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Florida Senate - 1999 (NP) SB 36
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1 Hild, the fact that he would be selecting Option 2 under the
2 Florida Retirement System, an option which provides for 120
3 equal monthly benefits to a surviving designated beneficiary
4 of the member in the event of the member's death, and
5 WHEREAS, however, when Fred E. Hild presented the
6 retirement option selection form to the personnel office of
7 Valencia Community College, he had checked Option 1 on the
8 form instead of Option 2, and
9 WHEREAS, Option 1 under the Florida Retirement System
10 provides for the payment of retirement benefits during the
11 life of the member, with no continuing payments to the spouse
12 of the member after the member's death, and
13 WHEREAS, individuals in the Valencia Community College
14 personnel office were concerned that Fred E. Hild was confused
15 during much of the time they discussed his retirement with
16 him, and
17 WHEREAS, on one occasion, Vickie Nelson, the assistant
18 in the personnel office with whom Fred E. Hild most frequently
19 dealt concerning his retirement, went to the Provost's
20 secretary, Dixie Borden, to raise her concerns that Fred E.
21 Hild did not fully understand what he was being told about his
22 retirement, and
23 WHEREAS, unfortunately, no one at Valencia Community
24 College ever relayed these concerns to Lois Hild or mentioned
25 to her that her husband, Fred E. Hild, had elected Option 1,
26 an obviously poor choice given Fred E. Hild's poor state of
27 health, and
28 WHEREAS, a number of people, including Fred E. Hild's
29 physician, attest to Mr. Hild's confused state and the other
30 facts set forth herein, and
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Florida Senate - 1999 (NP) SB 36
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1 WHEREAS, Fred E. Hild died in September 1997, having
2 received his Option 1 retirement payments under the Florida
3 Retirement System from August 1996 until his death, and
4 WHEREAS, Fred E. Hild's selection of Option 1 under the
5 Florida Retirement System was not intended and was the product
6 of his lack of capacity, NOW, THEREFORE,
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8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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10 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this
11 act are found and declared to be true.
12 Section 2. The Executive Office of the Governor is
13 directed to transfer existing spending authority or establish
14 spending authority from the General Revenue Fund in the State
15 Treasury in an amount equal to a monthly retirement benefit of
16 $1,692.72, plus an annual cost of living allowance, to be paid
17 for a period of 106 months, which would have been due Lois
18 Hild, as surviving spouse of Fred E. Hild, had Fred E. Hild
19 selected Option 2 upon his retirement under the Florida
20 Retirement System.
21 Section 3. The Comptroller is directed to draw his
22 warrant in favor of Lois Hild in an amount equal to a monthly
23 retirement benefit of $1,692.72, plus an annual cost of living
24 allowance, to be paid for a period of 106 months, which would
25 have been due Lois Hild, as surviving spouse of Fred E. Hild,
26 had Fred E. Hild selected Option 1 upon his retirement under
27 the Florida Retirement System.
28 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
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Florida Senate - 1999 (NP) SB 36
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2 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
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Provides for the relief of Lois Hild, widow of Fred E.
4 Hild. Provides an appropriation for the purpose of paying
Lois Hild the retirement benefits to which she would have
5 been entitled as surviving spouse of Fred E. Hild had
Fred E. Hild selected a specified retirement option upon
6 his retirement under the Florida Retirement System.
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