Harvey v. Allegheny County Retirement Board

In Harvey v. Allegheny County Retirement Board, 392 Pa. 421, 141 A.2d 197, 50 Mun. L Rep. 1 (1958), the Supreme Court reviewed the case law regarding pensions and determined that the Legislature may "not alter the terms of a pension contract without the consent of an employe" who has satisfied the conditions precedent for receiving a pension, but that "prior to an employe's fulfillment of such conditions the legislature could change or add to these conditions when such changes enhanced the actuarial soundness of the fund." Id. at 428, 141 A.2d at 201. In Harvey, there was a pension contract, the terms of which had been altered without consent of the employees. Specifically, in Harvey, during the course of Harvey's employment with Allegheny County, the Legislature substantially changed the retirement system of which Harvey was a member. These substantial changes included increasing contribution amounts, increasing the voluntary retirement age from fifty to sixty years, and changing the terms of receiving retirement benefits.